Download Society of Biblical Literature 2009 ANNUAL MEETING ABSTRACTS

Society of Biblical Literature
2009 ANNUAL MEETING
ABSTRACTS
NEW ORLEANS
November 20–24, 2009
21-104 Israel Ahimbisibwe, Rice University
Sinai and Its Transformative Nature: Reading II Kings 14:5–6 in
the Context of Rwanda Genocide
Ancient Israel took into her theology the Sinai Covenant and
allowed it to transform their ancient pagan customs into the
practice of the nature of God alone.This paper will address the
abolition of the custom of punishing children for fathers in II
Kings 14:5–6 and what would be its wider hermeneutical implications in Rwanda before the 1994 genocide. In Israel, as else
where in the Ancient Near East evidence shows that this custom
had been practiced (Josh 7:24 ff.; Judg 21:10; I Sam 22:19; II Sam
21:6ff.; cf. Code of Hammurabi, par. 210). However, Deut 24:16
and II Kings 14: 6 puts an end to this practice. In II Kings 14:5–6,
Amaziah’s act in sparing the sons of his father’s murderers was
a departure from the customary practice of blood revenge, a
point duly emphasized by the Deuteronomist historiographer.
From the phraseology the historiographer suggests that king
Amaziah was guided by the Lord’s command as stated in the
teaching of ‘The Book of Moses’ thereby allowing a surprising
act of moderation in an ancient society where blood vengeance
hitherto had been a common practice. Amaziah’s moderation
or simply what YHWH had commanded Israel through Moses
was a ‘Check Point’ to avert any potential future mass atrocity. I
will use this understanding to critique the direct participation of
the church of Rwanda in the 1994 genocide but also to provide
a formulary hermeneutical interpretation of this scripture to the
Rwandan Church. Equally, as there is evidence to indicate that
ancient Israel initially practiced blood revenge, there is much
evidence that the Church in Rwanda was at the center of genocide. Rather than being a passive mirror of reflecting tensions,
the Church became more of an epicenter radiating tensions. In
1995 Mahmood Mamdan wrote: “Priests were among those who
killed…UN Center for Human Rights claimed “strong evidence”
that “about a dozen priests actually killed”…others accused of
“supervising gangs of young killers”… “Father Munyashyaka
sheltered eight thousand refugees in Sainte-Famille church…but
later on called on the killers to come and pick those they wanted.
How could it be that most major massacres of the genocide took
place in churches? How could the church, usually associated
with nurturing and the preservation of life instead be associated
with mass atrocity? How could the church be a place where life
was taken with impunity and facility?” African theologians like
John S. Mbiti have previously argued that the Bible translated in
local languages made African believers access the Word of God
and could therefore apply it relevantly within their cultural settings to transform or confirm their cultural beliefs and practices.
In an article Hilary B. P. Mijoga subscribes to this notion by underscoring how the Bible’s encounter with local cultural customs
and practices has led to their transformation among women in
the Malawi Society. While the Malawi society may not be representative of the society in Rwanda in particular and Africa in
general, the process of turning the church into a place of settling
scores and the direct participation in genocide of her clergy is
not only horrendous but totally undermines the theory of the
role of the Bible and its encounter in cultural transformation in
Africa. The involvement of the Church in genocide raises very
serious hermeneutical questions concerning II Kings 14:6,the
sanctity of life and whether or not there is need for a new interpretation. My paper will employ a historical critical method in
analyzing II Kings 14: 6 and the underlying concepts and ideologies based on insights of the historical critical method. I will first
account for the change that took place in ancient Israel and then
compare the context of ancient Israel with the context of Rwanda. I will use the change in ancient Israel to provide a formulary
hermeneutical interpretation of this text in Rwanda.
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21-104 Celucien L. Joseph, University of Texas at Dallas
The Ethics of Justification and the Question of Race
The doctrine of justification is arguably one of the cardinal Christian doctrines. Protestant Christianity in the Western tradition
has not given significant weight to the horizontal dimension of
justification. The resistance to acknowledge the validity of the
horizontal breadths of justification challenges equally the deficiency of racial unity, and confronts certain social-political
structures in ecclesial sub-cultures, which we created. In this
paper, we explore first how justification is dealt in Scripture in
respect to God-human relations, second what God’s justification
of man implicates in human relation with others. First we propose that a proper understanding of biblical justification woos
us toward social justice, and invites us for genuine race relations
and reconciliation in various ecclesial communities. The symbiotic and dynamic interplay between justification, new creation
and the race problem suggests that Christians must reevaluate
their understanding of justification and the Gospel message. Second, attributing a horizontal character to justification challenges
the social and cultural frontiers we build between ourselves and
others. Finally, we insist that the biblical doctrine of justification
entails that Christians must embody divine justice that justifies
(us), irregardless of race, ethnicity and gender. In other words,
justification in biblical terms is a holistic project. It is equally
about what God has done in Christ for us, and what he wants
to do in us for others. For the doctrine is grounded in the story
of God’s new creation, the promise of the “new race,” “new covenant,” orchestrated through and by Christ.
21-104 Elelwani B. Farisani, University of South Africa
African Indigenous Languages and the Teaching and Learning of
Biblical Hebrew
This paper explores the use of African Indigenous languages in
the teaching and learning of Biblical Hebrew. This is done in
three stages. Firstly, it examines the role of vernacular languages
in African theological scholarship. Secondly, it discusses morphological and syntactical correspondences between Hebrew
and African Indigenous languages. And finally, spells out the
significance of such correspondences for the teaching and learning of Biblical Hebrew to African students.
21-108 George Aichele, Adrian College
The Posthumanity of “the Son of Man”: Heroes and Apocalypse
I explore the popular television series Heroes in intertextual
tension with biblical texts from Daniel, Revelation, and the gospels. As a serial narrative, Heroes cannot end and yet its story is
impossible without the continual threat of an end of the world.
In this it shares much with other recent popular TV series (as
well as novels and comic books). However, this inability to end
also connects these narratives with biblical narratives of the end,
which are always “apocalypse without apocalypse,” as Jacques
Derrida said. Even in its ancient forms, this revelation that does
not reveal is a postmodern phenomenon, as that which “puts
forward the unpresentable in presentation itself ” (Lyotard).
However, it also raises the question of whether the endlessness
of these ends is somehow connected to the polytheism that
Heroes’s story entails—i.e., would a genuine (modernist) monotheism not require a single, absolute, and definitive end?—and
if that is so, then what does that tell us about the biblical texts in
question? I draw upon the work of Philip Davies, Friedrich Nietzsche, Katherine Hayles, Roland Barthes, and Gilles Deleuze,
among others.
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21-108 Sheila Briggs, University of Southern California
The Bible in the Xenaverse
The cult television series, Xena Warrior Princess, integrates the
bible into its own fictional universe, the Xenaverse, a reinvention
of the cultures of antiquity in the Mediterranean and beyond.
The paper has two sections that look at the two different representational strategies that the series pursues. The first section,
entitled, “Homage to the Hollywood Bible,” concentrates on how
the series deploys biblical material in the first two seasons. The
series consciously imitates how Hollywood translated Hebrew
Bible stories to the big screen. We find episodes that copy the
epic tone of Cecil DeMille’s remake of his own “Ten Commandments” as well as the more whimsical Spielberg’s “Raiders of the
Lost Ark.” The biblical narratives are transformed not through
an obtrusive insertion of the character of Xena or through fantasy elements in the series but through being interwoven into
a new mythic universe. The series unites premodern and postmodern sensibilities that can both commingle intense realism
with the fantastic. In later seasons this combination of realism
and fantasy leads to the second representational strategy—“The
Postmodern Cathedral.” As religious (and especially christological) themes come to dominate the series the aesthetic referent
ceases to be the Hollywood biblical movie. Instead the series
draws on traditional Christian visual cultures in which the biblical narratives were reshaped in the material practices of popular
piety. What is being imitated here are the rood screens, reliquaries and stained glass of medieval cathedrals and their later
echoes in American Catholic culture through holy cards and the
stations of the cross. In this traditional visual culture the biblical
narratives were placed within a broader salvation history with
its additional legends and heroes. The visual narrative of Xena
Warrior Princess creates its own new salvation history.
21-108 Tony Michael, York University
The Dark Knight as Prophetic Realism: A Minority Voice in
American Super Hero Culture
Scholars Jewett and Lawrence argue that American civil religion
is bifurcated by two contradictory traditions—zealous nationalism which seeks to redeem the world by the destruction of
enemies and which dominates American behavior and prophetic realism which seeks to redeem the world for coexistence by
the impartial enforcement of law. Recent big-budget films such
as Superman Returns, Ironman and Spiderman perfectly demonstrate the dominant view as endemic to both narrative and
character development whereas only The Dark Knight represents the minority tradition. This presentation will suggest that
the minority voice can be seen in such a film in all of its parts
(i.e., dialogue and visual). This apparent evidence of the Jewett
and Lawrence position can be quite stunning.
21-108 Alice Bach, Case Western Reserve University
“If There are Such Things as Miracles, Israel has to be One!”: Narratives from the Hollywood Vault
This paper will examine constructed narratives of the founding of the modern state of Israel in American films, from the
romanticized beginnings of nationhood films, Exodus (1960)
and Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), to the Israeli version of Sesame
Street. My intention is to compare Hollywood’s mirroring of the
mythic pioneering films of the settling of the American West to
the settling of Israel, as well as the ways in which these films gave
Americans a strong connection to the state of Israel’s “struggle
for independence.” With stars such as Paul Newman and Eva
Marie Saint (Exodus) and Kirk Douglas, Yul Brunner, John
Wayne, and Frank Sinatra (Cast a Giant Shadow), it is difficult
for the American viewer to separate these films from American
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war stories, larded with Hollywood passion and romance. The
second part of the paper deals with contemporary made for
TV films, e.g, Israel: Birth of a Nation, Against All Odds Israel
Survives, and Israel in a Time of Terror. Primarily made for the
History Channel and the A&E networks, these polemic films are
all told from an Israeli point of view. Thus, they keep an American audience securely believing in one constant narrative: the
struggle of innocent Israel against its Arab foes, none of whom
are interviewed or presented in any setting other than bloody
attempts at conquest.
21-108 G. Andrew Tooze, Pfeiffer University
Putting Pants on David: Dressing Israel’s King for Children
In the “Itchy and Scratchy and Marge” episode of The Simpsons,
a traveling exhibit of Michelangelo’s “David” comes to Springfield. In order to protect the children from the statue’s graphic
depiction of “parts of the human body, which, practical as they
may be, are evil,” an overzealous group of townspeople will only
allow the statue to be displayed if it is wearing pants. The result
of this moralistic overreaction is a compromise of the artistic
integrity of the statue and a distortion of the artist’s vision. In
contrast to Michelangelo’s statue, the biblical story of David contains elements, such as adultery, murder, and rape, which quite
legitimately disqualify it from being an appropriate story for
children. Although David is the hero of the story and, according
to the text, regarded as a “son” by God (2 Sam 7:14), many of his
actions and choices are not ones most parents would encourage
their children to copy. In spite of this, there is no shortage of
animated videos for children that tell the story of David and that
present him as a model to be emulated. This paper will examine
several animated versions of the story of David, including two
from the popular Veggie Tales series, to demonstrate how the
story of David is altered and adapted in order to make it suitable
for children. This paper will conclude that as a result of these
alterations and adaptations, the meaning of the biblical story is
fundamentally changed and diminished.
21-109 Stephen Pattemore, United Bible Societies
The Role of Relevance Theory in Biblical Exegesis for Translation
Relevance Theory (RT) seeks to explain human communication as a cognitive inferential process. In doing so it provides
the slippery notion of “context” with both sharper definition
and restraints. Biblical exegesis seeks to uncover dimensions of
meaning transfer in communication events which took place in
a context far removed in space and time from the exegete. This
paper will consider, from both theoretical and practical standpoints, the potential and the limitations for RT’s contribution
to the exegetical task. But “exegesis for translation´ foregrounds
a secondary, contemporary communication event which makes
demands on the task of exegesis. Every translator experiences
the frustration of going to what appears to be a detailed exegetical treatment of a particular passage, only to find that the precise
questions raised in translation are either not even considered, or
are not sufficiently clarified. This paper will go on to ask whether
considerations of relevance can provoke the exegete into asking
the right questions.
21-110 Kevin R. West, Stephen F. Austin State University
“The Apocalypse Commentary of Bob Paisner” and Apocalyptic
Persistence
My essay on the Rick Moody short story “The Apocalypse Commentary of Bob Paisner” views the protagonist’s “reading” of his
life in terms of the Book of Revelation as largely the product of
erotic frustration. What begins as a quasi-mechanical search for
correspondences between the life of a student at Temple University and the events depicted in Revelation shows itself to be
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a testament of desire occasioned by an absent beloved, for this
instance of rewriting-as-commentary becomes an account of
Paisner’s failure to secure the love of a fellow student, Judith.
I argue that this coincidence of the apocalyptic and the erotic
reveals an erotic undercurrent of apocalypticism as a genre in its
constructions of consummation and preoccupation with secret
matters. That Paisner persists in his apocalyptic mode of reading
even after Judith rejects him portrays a key aspect of apocalyptic thinking as described by critic Frank Kermode: apocalyptic
speculation can be “disconfirmed” without being “discredited.”
Moody’s own short story, with its postmodern revisiting of an
antique genre, reprises Kermode’s notion of disconfirming-without-discrediting by at once treating the apocalyptic as the stuff
of humor and by questioning the grounds on which one would
reject the possibility of eschatological prophecy. The fervor with
which Paisner makes his case implies his revelation’s lack of selfauthentication, even as he seeks to legitimate it by borrowing
John’s authority. John’s Apocalypse literally structures Paisner’s
self-understanding, and despite the fact that he may be, as Judith
claims, “completely nuts,” the manner in which he orients the
events of his life to an apocalyptic pattern differs only in degree
and intensity from the manner in which narrative plots and human histories alike tend to follow a schema positing future, full
revelation.
21-110 Richard G. Walsh, Methodist University
Borges’ “Orthodox” Judas
Borges’ tendency to heresy is well-known. Its basis is an aesthetic that willfully rewrites literary precursors. When this rewriting
extends to the employment of marginal ideas or texts or results in
the rewriting of dominant philosophical or theological systems,
as it does in his “Three Versions of Judas,” Borges’ heresies become more obvious. In that short story, Borges does not create a
simple Judas story. Instead, he offers a posthumous review of the
life’s work of a modern gnostic, Niles Runeberg, who devoted his
life to the enigma of the biblical Judas. For the Christian narrator
of the tale, Runeberg (and his Judas) is a gnostic, as he assumes
the world to be inferior to the spiritual realm and as he wallows
in degradation. Moreover, like Irenaeus’ ancient gnostics, Runeberg assumes that there is some “mystery” to Judas’ betrayal and
reverses the ethical polarities of the biblical story, elevating the
villain Judas to heroic and, then, divine status. Despite these
gnostic trappings and the narrator’s willingness to out Runeberg
as a gnostic, various traces of orthodoxy linger in Runeberg’s
commitment to providence, in his obsessive attention to canonical scripture and his belief in its absolute truthfulness, and in his
assumptions about a hierarchy of being and it corollary of the
necessity of (symbolic) revelation. Most importantly, Runeberg
deviates from gnosticism by concluding that God was incarnate.
(He deviates from orthodoxy by concluding that the incarnate
one is Judas.) Despite the narrator’s assertion, Runeberg is not
a gnostic. Instead, he traces the border between heresy and orthodoxy, revealing shadowy connections between the fraternal
rivals. Borges’ Christian narrator gestures at this point in his final lines as he notes that Runeberg “added to the concept of the
Son … the complexities of calamity and evil.”
21-110 Jay Twomey, University of Cincinnati
Fictional Neo-Paulinisms: Rewritings of the Life of Paul
Literary treatments of Jesus’ life and ministry abound, of course,
and the scholarship concerning gospel rewrites is quite extensive. Far less well known, especially among scholars, are the
hundreds of narrative portraits of Paul, many of them written
for a popular audience. In this paper I propose, first, to outline a
very brief history of such fictionalizations, or literary ‘transfigu
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rations’ (to recall Ziolkowski on gospel retellings). I will then
focus on a handful of books produced during the last half of the
20th century ­ for instance, novels by Sholem Asch, Johnny Cash,
Gore Vidal, Walter Wangerin, and others. I will consider these
novels in terms supplied by literary theories of rewriting (e.g.,
the work Cowart, Moraru, Boitani, Cushing Stahlberg), certainly. But, inspired in part by Yvonne Sherwood’s work on the
afterlives of Jonah, I am also interested in using these narratives
to enable a conversation among contemporary literary/cultural
studies, political theory, and New Testament scholarship. In fact,
I hope to show that these texts already assume that that conversation has begun. Johnny Cash, for example, in a foreword
to his novel ‘Man in White,’ cites sources including historicalcritical studies, popular biographies, discussions with religious
figures, and so on. One might ask how such a self-conscious
framing, gesturing as it does to an artificially-narrowed history
of reception, attempts to organize our re-reading of Paul. And
one could further explore, or more likely trouble, that framing
by introducing Badiou and Agamben (and other theorists) into
the conversation, and by considering the specific socio-political contexts of rewriting. I hope in this way to provide a fuller
sense of the cultural function of these fictionalizations of the life
of Paul, especially vis-à-vis a relatively broad understanding of
what Ward Blanton has called (with productive ambiguity) the
‘disturbing politics’ of recent ‘neo-Paulinism.’
21-110 Stephen D. Moore, Drew University
The Invention of the Biblical Scholar: From Sub-Sub-Specialization to Post-Postism (and Beyond)
This joint paper would take a long defamiliarizing look at that
oddest of academic animals, the “biblical scholar,” with due attention to its origins, evolution, and attempted self-mutations.
The paper would aim to entertain as well as inform. Its successive sections would treat “The biblical sub-sub-sub-specialist,”
“Civil servants of the biblical text,” and other such topics. Despite and by means of the levity, however, a serious argument
would be advanced. Contemporary biblical scholarship, it would
be argued, even those developments within it that most readily
invite the label “postmodern(ist),” is still fundamentally predetermined and contained by the Enlightenment episteme that
spawned it, and far more than is generally realized. The Bible of
contemporary biblical scholarship remains the Enlightenment
Bible. Despite the alleged “fragmentation” of the historicalcritical paradigm associated with the recent multiplication of
methods, the apparent radicalization of method, and the intensification of interdisciplinarity, no fundamental rupture of the
biblical-scholarly episteme has yet occurred, we would contend,
comparable to that which brought the discipline into being in
the first place.
21-111 Paul L. Redditt, Baptist Seminary of Kentucky
The Landscape of Hosea 2
This paper is a response to the Steering Committee of the Book
of the Twelve Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, whose
members asked contributors to submit papers that appeal in
some way to landscapes in the Twelve. The idea is that biblical
texts sometimes presuppose a landscape. The test case here is
Hosea 2, part of the narrative about the prophet Hosea and his
relationship with his wife, which relationship is portrayed as a
parable of Israel’s relationship to God. The passage contains a
number of allusions to plant life, and a verse or so that constitutes a map of the new Israel. To study the life of the prophet
and the history of Israel is obviously necessary, but attention
to the landscape opens the text in ways that supplement studies of words, genres, customs, and history. This study, therefore,
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will describe the structure of Hos 2:1–23 and then focus on six
features of the landscape within the text. It will argue that the
poem elicits and exploits mental images of luxurious fields, barren wilderness, physical obstructions, and even a partial map of
the conquest in its treatment of Israel’s idolatry and the consequences of that life.
21-111 Cameron S. McKenzie, Providence College
Arise, Go Where? Space, Time, and Genre in the Book of Jonah
Mikhail Bakhtin approaches the novel, ancient and modern, in
terms of its special sense of space (understood as social) and
time (understood as historical). The spatial and temporal indicators of a given narrative fuse into one carefully thought out
concrete whole which becomes a key indicator of genre. Bakhtin
calls these genre marking entities “chronotopes.” Using Mikhail
Bakhtin’s theory of the chronotope, this paper will argue that the
book of Jonah, the lone, largely narrative chapter in the Book
of the Twelve Prophets, should be understood as a kind of historical romance, where the action is spread across a global stage
involving multiple countries and settings fused together with
several “chance” happenings. Additionally, as Jonah progresses
through the various episodes of the story he does not experience
any change, neither biographical nor ideological. The spatial
contexts of Joppa, Tarshish, the ship, the sea, and Nineveh tend
to be mere background against which the character of Jonah is
presented as following a predetermined character path that the
context may obstruct but not essentially shape. This “historical
romance chronotope” has the effect of giving substance and flesh
to a whole realm of cultural assumptions and values underlying
the book of Jonah.
21-111 Christine Mitchell, St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon
Earth-Empire in Haggai-Zechariah and Persian Imperial Inscriptions
This paper is a comparative analysis of the concepts of “earth”
as a geographic term and as a socio-political term in HaggaiZechariah and the inscriptions of Darius the Great. Clarisse
Herrenschmidt (1976) has argued that while the words “land/
people” (dahayu-) and “kingdom” (xšaça-) were used in the
Bisitun inscription to describe the area under Darius’ rule, his
later texts used a new word to describe the vastness of his dominion. This word “earth” (būmī-), previously meaning “land,
soil,” and used as the counterpart to “heavens/sky,” now came to
have the meaning of “empire.” In Haggai-Zechariah, the Hebrew
word Cr), while still linked with place-names in such phrases as
hdwhy-Cr) (e.g., Zech 2:4), may be read when it stands alone as
a counterpart to Darius’ būmī-. As such, the Hebrew texts use
the rhetoric of Persian texts in order to counterpoise the Persian
Great King with the divine king Yhwh. However, by adopting
this imperial rhetoric, these prophetic books divorce the concept
of the land from the people who inhabit it. This move undoes
the link between people, land and Yhwh that is so important in
earlier prophetic texts. Geographic space is re-oriented from local connections with land to universal connections with Yhwh’s
created order.
21-111 Bart B. Bruehler, Asbury Theological Seminary
Reading Zechariah with Soja and Sack
The book of Zechariah comes to us as a composite work containing two clear units: chs. 1–8 and 9–14. Each of these main
units concludes with a prophetic announcement concerning the
place of Jerusalem and its environs in the future of the people of
Israel. Reading Zecharaiah with the theoretical tools provided
by Edward Soja (a common player in the exploration of place
and space in biblical texts) brings out the portrayal of Jerusalem
in Zech 14. This passage creates a real-and-imagined thirdspace
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based upon “an-other” Jerusalem beyond the Jerusalem of exlie
and the Jerusalem of restoration, a Jerusalem full of tensions,
margins, and heterotopic elements that fit well into Soja’s theoretical perspective. Reading Zechariah with the theoretical tools
provided by Robert Sack (a much less common player) brings
out the portrayal of Zion/Jerusalem in Zech 8. This passage
creates a Jerusalem embedded in the places of city, home, and
country life and emphasizes the value truth, justice/peace, and
natural fecundity that fit well into Sack’s moral perspective. The
paper will close by reflecting on the contributions of both theorists to a reading of Jerusalem, which ultimately becomes a place
of pilgrimage for all the nations in both Zech 8 and 14.
21-111 Mary Mills, Liverpool Hope University
Deathscapes and the City in the Book of the Twelve
This paper intends to examine the profile of the city in relevant
passages in the Book of the Twelve and to consider its profile as
both ravaged and defended. The paper will engage in an intertext with works of cultural geography in the area of landscape
iconography, such as the topic of Places of memory worked out
by Karen Till. This paper is one of a series of studies on the urban
imaginaries of OT prophecy and this time takes up the theme of
death/ loss and mourning.
21-113 Shelley Ashdown, Graduate Institute of Applied
Linguistics
A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Go’el in Deutero-Isaiah
This paper draws on cognitive linguistics to explore the radial
category nature of Go’el?as paried with Holy One of Israel in
Deutero-Isaiah and the thematic commonalties of the passages
involved. The earthly office of Go’el exhibits a radial structure
of four models that entail several senses of the concept the people of Israel associated with the office of redeemer, these are: 1)
Pentateuchal Model; 2) Royal Model; 3) Marital Model; and 4)
Avenger Model. Pertinent to the discussion is the way in which
Isaiah extends the title by pairing Go’el with the Holy One of
Israel six times in chapters 41, 43, 47, 48, 49, and 54 suggesting
Go’el fulfills a sacred office with spiritual connotations of deliverance associated with restoring the broken covenant relationship
between Yahweh and his people. A fifth structural component to
the sacred office, the Holiness Model, is proposed which suggests
a five model radial structure for the overall category of Go’el.
21-113 Greg Schmidt Goering, University of Virginia
Sapiential Synesthesia: The Confluence of Light and Word in Ben
Sira’s Wisdom Instruction
On three separate occasions, the Jewish sage Ben Sira (ca. 185
BCE) describes his teaching activity as a confluence of light and
word. From a cognitive experientialist perspective, this paper
interprets Ben Sira’s synesthetic description of his wisdom instruction in light of local cultural assumptions regarding the
operation of the perceptual organs. The different modalities assumed to be operative in vision and audition, respectively, are
also implied in the sage’s metaphorical uses of seeing and hearing. Throughout his work, Ben Sira deploys visual metaphors
to indicate first-hand experience, apprehension of meaningful
patterns in nature, continuity between the wisdom teacher (the
seer) and the sacred realm, and the presentation of divine truths.
The sage employs aural metaphors to suggest that the verbal medium of wisdom instruction stands at some remove from the
original sagely insight based on visual perception, that wisdom
instruction cannot immediately present meaningful patterns
but only represent them, and that the student (the hearer) who
experiences the sequential unfolding of the wisdom instruction
in time stands in discontinuity with the sacred realm. When the
sage combines visual and aural metaphors to describe his own
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teaching activity, the resulting symbolic synesthesia not only
points to the pivotal role of the sage in merging the visual and
the verbal in the process of wisdom transmission, but it also
expresses the sage’s experience of the teaching event as extraordinary. By depicting his instruction as a convergence of word
and light, the sage describes a “perceptual paradox” (to use David Chidester’s phrase), in which his experience of instruction
is grounded in sensory perception and yet transcends normal
sensory perception. Through this symbolic synesthesia, the sage
positions himself as an intermediary who is both continuous
and discontinuous with the sacred realm and, thus, able to communicate divine wisdom to his students.
21-114 Bas van Os, Free University of Amsterdam
From the True Israel to True Christianity
In this paper I will compare the attempts of certain church fathers to persuade their followers not to participate in Jewish
rituals by setting up the Christian church as the true Israel with
the attempts of certain gnostic Christian authors who wish to
keep their followers from participating in mainstream Christian
rituals. In particular, I will look at the gnostic Christian argument that mainstream Christians are still Hebrews rather than
true Christians. The paper will discuss the role that baptism and
eucharist play to establish the group’s identity in the Gospel of
Philip and the Gospel of Judas .
21-114 F. Stanley Jones, California State University-Long
Beach
How Did Pseudo-Clementine Christianity Come into Existence?
The Pseudo-Clementine Basic Writing is the Jewish Christian
repository. Yet its author also draws selectively on known Gentile Christian sources. Examination of the development of this
variety of Christianity provides a vibrant picture of Syrian Jewish
Christian life in the late second and early third centuries. With
what justification does the Basic Writing claim to present the
unadulterated proclamation of Peter, Jesus’ most distinguished
disciple?
21-115 Janelle Peters, Emory University
Reading the Corinthian Veils through Hijabs and Habits
Many interpretations of the head-coverings in 1 Corinthians 11
have privileged the discussion of female asceticism in Tertullian
and Jerome over the partially disrobed virgins in The Shepherd
of Hermas and Acts of John. Drawing upon crosscultural anthropological comparison, Gail Corrington, Dale Martin, and others
have argued that veils customarily protect and patronize women. Certainly, non-Christian foundational religious texts like the
Qur’an contain examples of protective veils. The hijab (33:53)
and jilbab (33:59–60) are described as a result of Zaynab bint
Jahsh’s marriage to Mohammed after he gazed upon her partially
disrobed. The practice thrived amid a culture of Byzantine beauty contests and Sasanian captive beauty files. Recently, speaking
about the contemporary Egyptian Muslim female piety movement, Saba Mahmood has argued that women can find agency
in performing the practice of veiling. Accordingly, I propose to
read 1 Cor. 11 with veiled “ordinary” readers in U.S. diaspora
communities, situations similar to that of Corinth where Greeks
in a Roman colony envisioned Israel: American Muslims wearing the hijab and American Roman Catholic nuns wearing the
habit. We will consider established interpretations (e.g., Antoinette Wire, Dale Martin, Troy Martin), my own thesis that the
veils were egalitarian as Roman and Jewish male practice prescribed veiled heads, and the community’s own experience. As a
Roman Catholic, I am not just a scholar but also a reader with an
“ordinary” investment in the hermeneutical future of one of the
religious groups. In order to allow for American regional differ
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ences and individual idiosyncracies, my readings will synthesize
the experience of hijab wearers and nuns in Los Angeles, Atlanta,
and Chicago. For both groups of ordinary readers, consideration
will be given for the relational aspect of authority in their religious communities. Accordingly, imams and Catholic clergy in
supervisory roles will be consulted as non-biblical scholars who
wield epistemic authority in their communities.
21-116 Mark D. Nanos, Rockhurst University/University of
Kansas
‘Broken Branches’: A Pauline Metaphor Gone Awry?
The image of the olive tree from Paul’s allegory in Romans 11,
with some branches “broken off ” understood to signify that Jews
who do not believe in Jesus are removed from Israel, and wild
branches grafted in, which are understood to represent Gentiles
taking their place, has enormous influence in descriptions of
Christian origins as well as Paul’s theology. It is not uncommon
to encounter the argument for Gentile Christians as members of
Israel, true or spiritual, and not only in replacement theologies,
appeal to this reference above all, stating that they are “grafted”
in. They thus employ the language of the allegory to supposedly
interpret the allegory and express Christian theology, as if the
interpretation was self-evident. But it is not, including that Paul
never says that the tree signifies Israel; moreover, important
translation choices are disputable, and the mixed metaphorical
elements in the allegory go unexplained. I suggest that this allegory has been misread. It not only does not describe Israel and
the placement of Gentiles within it, it does not describe Jews
being displaced from Israel. The language of the allegory has
been mistranslated, and how it sits in its context, and thus what
it is designed to represent, have gone unnoticed. For example,
“broken off ” does not correspond to the argument in the preceding allegory, where Paul insisted that his fellow Jews had not
“fallen,” but instead reverses that message. By attending to the
agricultural language of ancients to translate and understand the
allegory of the olive tree, as well as attending to how its message
functions in the larger argument, including in terms of the other
allegories, this paper will show why and how this allegory does
not support the prevailing theologies, for which it is foundational, and it will offer an new translation and interpretation with
positive implications for Jewish-Christian relations.
21-116 Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte, VU University, Amsterdam
Paul: The Case of Ioudaismos versus Israel
Since the rise of the New Perspective, one of the most important points in Pauline studies is the issue of how Paul related
to Judaism. This paper will explore Paul’s remarks on ioudaioi
and ioudaismos in his authentic letters and compare them to
his use of the designations hebraios and israel. The point it will
argue is, that for Paul ioudaismos designated a specific type of
Jewish identity that he no longer adhered to. In stead, he proclaimed a new Israel, to which pagans were welcomed. Thus,
he redefined the idea of Israel in a way that would enable later
generations of Christians to develop a substitution theology in
which the identity of Israel was claimed for a mostly non-Jewish
movement of followers of Jesus Christ. One of the main reasons
for Paul’s redefinition of Israel was his eschatological fervor: he
was convinced that this specific, new Israel was an eschatological entity that would soon be taken up by God in the new aeon.
The theological difficulty of Christians claiming Israel’s heritage
is thus rooted in Paul’s eschatological views, or rather: his eschatological mistake.
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21-116 James C. Miller, Asbury Theological Seminary
Paul’s Letters and Early Jewish-Christian Identity Formation
Primary evidence for earliest Jewish-Christian relations comes
from the letters of Paul. In particular, Paul’s statements regarding his own heritage, whether they be about the Mosaic law or
his own past, have shaped subsequent Jewish-Christian relations
in countless ways with decidedly mixed results. But the more
accurate our understanding of Paul’s views become, the more
reliable becomes not only our ability to assess those views, but
also our capacity to evaluate his later interpreters. This paper
frames Paul’s controversial statements about his own Jewish
heritage within concepts drawn from the modern study of collective identity. Collective identity is not a static phenomenon.
It changes through time as groups encounter new circumstances
that necessitate modification of existing self-understandings.
Identity maintenance, therefore, requires both continuity and
discontinuity as new permutations of identity become negotiated on the basis of old. The negotiation process, however, may
be brutal as cherished symbols of identity undergo redefinition.
Paul’s convictions concerning Jesus’ resurrection was the new
circumstance that triggered his reassessment YHWH’s dealings
with Israel. As a result, Paul’s existing understanding of Israel
and the symbols that embodied that collective identity came
under scrutiny and reformulation, though not abandonment.
Some of Paul’s fellow Jews, however, found Paul’s teaching a
threat, opposing Paul sometimes violently. In Paul’s letters we
overhear one voice in the ongoing process of identity formation
as opposition forces Paul to cast his thoughts in context-specific
ways in light of his understanding of Jesus’ resurrection, his apostolic calling, his developing conceptions of God and Israel,
and the particular challenges afforded by his opponents. From
the perspective of modern analysis of collective identity, therefore, Paul’s letters are highly contextual utterances forged in the
heat of ongoing negotiations over self-identity. The paper concludes with observations about how such an approach to Paul
should influence how Paul is used in discussions of early JewishChristian relations.
21-116 Jin Hwang, Fuller Theological Seminary
Paul’s Ministry for the Gentile Churches at Ephesus and Corinth
and Jewish Festivals
In 1 Corinthians Paul made mention of two Jewish pilgrimage
festivals, namely, the Passover and the Pentecost. In chapter 5
he identified Christ with the paschal lamb and asked the Corinthian believers to celebrate the festival with unleavened bread
(vv.7–8). And in chapter 16 he made it clear that he would have
to stay at Ephesus until the Pentecost (v.8). These references are
quite remarkable as he never mentioned any of such Jewish festivals by name elsewhere in his letters (cf. Gal 1:18; 2:1; 4:10;
Col 2:16; Acts 20:6). Why then did Paul specifically mention two
of them—the Passover and the Pentecost—exclusively in 1 Corinthians? How did such Jewish festivals shape his ministry for
the gentile churches at Corinth and Ephesus and the way of his
argumentations in 1 Corinthians? In the present paper, we will
attempt to answer these questions and suggest the implication of
our study on the topic of Early Jewish Christian relations.
21-117 Ralph K. Hawkins, Kentucky Christian University
The Era of Ramesses II and the Historical Transformation in
Palestine
The era of Ramesses II, ca. 1500–1200 BCE, is considered by some
to have been the first period of internationalism in world history. Militarized states on the eastern shores of Mediterranean Sea,
from Greece to the Sudan, all contributed to the shaping of the
identity of the region in terms of its history, society, and culture.
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Marc Van De Mieroop, in his recent volume entitled The Eastern Mediterranean in the Age of Ramesses II (Oxford: Blackwell,
2007), has culled the ancient textual and archaeological sources
in order to reconstruct the system of interdependence and coexistence that existed among these states during the Late Bronze
Age. The first half of this paper will review Van De Mieroop’s
synthesis of the data with regard to the states involved in the
international network of the period, their political organization
and social structure, diplomacy and war, food and drink, aspects of the economy, and cultural interaction. The second half
of the paper will focus on Van De Mieroop’s reconstruction of
the Mediterranean system as a whole and its relationship to the
historical transformation in Palestine during the transition from
the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age I.
21-117 Herbert B. Huffmon, Drew University
Physicians and Priests: Health Care in Egypt and Israel
It is striking that many of the Israelite priests have Egyptian personal names, apparently starting with Aaron. But the priestly
associations of Israel with Egypt go deeper than that. There are
also interesting similarities between the priestly role in Israel’s
health care and the health care role of the ancient Egyptian physician, often a priest as well as a physician, who is willing at times
to employ religio-magical means. Israel’s priests did not effect
healing—that was more the role of prophets and others—but the
priests had a central role in health care if only because of the
importance of purity and the role of the sanctuary. In the overview by John Nunn (Ancient Egyptian Medicine), the Egyptian
physician (1) examines the sick person, (2) provides a formal
diagnosis of the disease, and (3) offers a remedy, if possible. The
Israelite priest, as is especially clear in dealing with the skin/surface ailment, tsara’at, (1) examines the sick person, (2) offers a
diagnosis, and (3) if possible provides a remedy in terms of a
ritual that allows the person reentry into the sacred space of the
community, access to which is central to health care.This paper
examines the functional similarities between the Egyptian physicians/priests, as presented in the Egyptian medical papyri, and
the Israelite priests, especially as described in the Book of Leviticus.
21-117 John Gee, Brigham Young University
The Book of the Dead as Canon
Canon is a concept closely tied to biblical studies, whence it
originated. From the side of biblical studies, it has been argued
that there is no canon outside Abrahamic religions. On the side
of Egyptology it is a common dictum that the ancient Egyptians
had no scripture and no canon. This idea seems to come from a
narrow Protestant view of the canon. It also appears to be an effort to marginalize study of the Book of the Dead. I will examine
the concept of canon in a wider circle than Protestant Christianity and use a list of criteria that is not sect specific to argue that
the Book of the Dead is canonical for the ancient Egyptians.
21-118 Teresa J. Hornsby, Drury University
Postmodern Ideology and the Valorization of Masochism
In this paper, I explore how capitalism utilizes Christian masochism in producing and maintaining certain power structures
that are tied to neoliberalist capitalism. If sexuality and gender
are constructed in collusion with capitalistic power, a shift in
capitalism should create different sexual and gender normatives.
I explore, then, how a shift in capitalism (from a closed, centrally powerful and industrialized system [Fordism] to an open,
globally diverse and electronically based system) may involve a
queering of gender normatives, and particularly a valorization
of masochism. I argue that there is an emerging trend in praise
of masochism in post-modern ideologies, primarily those works
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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that conflate suffering, the bible and the constructions of gender.
I first argue that because of the needs of a dynamic and global
capitalism, perceptions of modern Christianity, as they are derived from biblical valorizations of suffering, aid in producing
docile bodies—bodies that submit to power while being under
the illusion of sexual freedom. Physical bodies, no longer required en masse by an industrial-based capitalism to reproduce,
can wander within wider, more elastic sexual and gender boundaries; it is a relaxing of compulsory heterosexuality. However,
capitalism in whatever form is still capitalism (David Harvey).
It needs fewer bodies, but those bodies must self-regulate. These
newly produced, fluid, ambivalent sexual identities must be willing, no, eager to suffer for this elasticity. It is a production of
queer sexualities, but these are, as all sexualities are, manufactured to serve power. Queer sexuality does not subvert power
nor is it produced apart from, or over and against the ideological
center. It is merely moving within that system (but Judith Butler
has said this all along). This paper intends expand on Butler:
the status quo (heterosexism and the production of capitalist
power) is also nourished by postmodern ideology and biblical
critics like me.
21-118 Katrina Van Heest, Claremont Graduate University
Engendering Metaphors: Refiguring Patrilineal Categories and
Logics
This paper outlines a new gendered category for understanding Paul’s figurative language in Romans: property metaphors.
It argues that Paul’s use of such imagery is more consequential
than purely cosmetic. As his writing moved from marginal correspondence to majority discourse, Paul’s metaphors became
inextricable from his message of widespread Christocentrism.
The naming of this category of metaphors has gendered implications insofar as property systems tend to exist for the protection
of male inheritance through the regulation of women. If Paul’s
most lastingly influential letter, Romans, is buttressed by linguistic choices that derive their meaning from patrilineal property
systems, we can better identify the androcentric structures of
dominance evidenced in the Christian canon. Very few cataloging efforts of Paul’s metaphors have been attempted, but those
available consistently employ politically benign categories: architecture, city life, athleticism, and so forth. However, many of
the operative metaphors in Romans actually depend on property
systems for their meaning. These include Paul’s celebrated idea
of divine grace as a “free gift,” his use of slavery as a category of
spiritual existence, and even the image of grafting olive trees derives from agricultural practice, which necessarily concerns the
transformation of land from nature to parceled property. Addressing each metaphor in turn, this paper models and reflects
on a feminist hermeneutic that is suspicious of overdetermined
modes of mapping the literary features of biblical texts. It is then
informed by cultural theories and interrogated by socialist feminist work and feminist reckonings of kinship dynamics. Paul’s
central role in the Christian canon requires engaging the logic
of exclusive ownership, which is deeply gendered and troubling
in its invisibility. The naming of feminist biblical categories and
embracing a theory-woven style of argumentation allow an incisive fathoming of biblical traditions—here, of Pauline rhetorics.
21-118 Ellen J. van Wolde, Radbound Universiteit Nijmegen
Women Viewed in Terms of Family-in-Law, Marital Love, and
Plants
This paper proposes to study ‘woman imagery’ in the Hebrew
bible by an examination of language and cognition. The way
Hebrew language conceives of and expresses female social and
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sexual roles in terms of family-in-law and marital love, and the
way it expresses their fertility in agricultural terms can give us
access to a conceptualisation of women different from our modern views. The first example shows the way the in-law-family is
conceptualized in ancient Israel. The analysis incorporates data
from anthropology and linguistics and explains, among others,
why words such as ‘mother-in-law’, ‘father-in-law’, and ‘daughter-in-law’ are used, but not the word ‘son-in-law’. The second
example explains why the verb ahab (‘to love’), when used in
reference to the relationship between a man and a woman, is
employed in the third person masculine singular only. The third
example demonstrates how fertility is considered to depend
on male seed only and elucidates some of its consequences for
women.
21-118 Alice Ogden Bellis, Howard University
Consensual “Marriage by Abduction” and Genesis 34: An Anthropological Approach
The story of Dinah and Shechem in Genesis 34 involves interlocking issues of philology, sex, law, cultural diversity, history,
feminist ideology, etic vs. emic approaches, and ethics, just to
name a few! Many of these issues have been explored at great
length in a number of scholarly articles. One avenue of exploration, however, remains largely untouched. Although the
possibility that what happened was an attempted marriage by
abduction was suggested by Joseph Fleishman, a variant—consensual “marriage by abduction”—is also discussed in the
anthropological journals, as well as on various internet sites.
Examples of this phenomenon can be found in literature as well
as in anthropological studies of twentieth century cultures in
various parts of Asia and Africa that were largely untouched by
modernity. In some instances ethnic difference also comes into
play, making such examples even more pertinent to the story
of Dinah and Shechem. Several Hebrew Bible scholars including Thomas Overholt (Anthropology and the Old Testament),
Charles E. Carter and Carol Meyers (Community, Identity,
and Ideology: Social Science Approaches to the Hebrew Bible),
and Bernhard Lang (Anthropological Approaches to the Old
Testament) have suggested the usefulness of anthropological approaches to biblical interpretation. This paper attempts to mine
this approach to shed light on the vexed interpretative questions
that arise from the story of Dinah and Shechem.
21-118 Alice Yafeh-Deigh, Princeton Theological Seminary
Legitimating the Status Quo through the Rhetoric of Impersonality and of Neutrality: The Speaker-audience Dynamics in 1
Corinthians 7
This paper has two interconnected objectives: Within the context
of feminist biblical hermeneutics, 1) to examine the Speaker- implied audience dynamics in 1 Corinthians 7; and 2) use the results
of (1) to reread and reinterpret the implications of discourse for
women. It has long been recognized that Paul’s discourse on
sex and marriage ethics in 1 Corinthians 7 exhibits a striking
mutuality of conjugal rights and imposes reciprocal marital obligations between spouses (cf. especially vv. 2–4, 10–16, 27–28,
and 33–34). Scholars have also highlighted the countercultural
nature of Paul’s injunction to celibate women to remain free
from the marriage bond. Notwithstanding the high note of reciprocity, examination of the Speaker-implied audience dynamics
in the discourse reveals that, both from a rhetorical and a pragmatic standpoint, 1 Corinthians 7 does actually re-inscribe the
cultural status quo. The repetitive occurrence of interpersonal
address (second person references) demonstrates that the ratio
of second-person male address to second-person female address
is high (for interpersonal address directed to male addressees,
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cf. vv. 21 and 27–28); in fact, the only time when females are
directly addressed is in the interpellative, rhetorical question of
v. 16 (ti gar oidas, gynai, ei ton andra s_seis ?). The absence of
a dialogic, reciprocal “I-you” relationship between the speaker
and the female addressees is noteworthy for a discourse that
purports to foster mutuality and interdependence within the
sexual sphere of marital life. By selecting the third person address form to speak to female addressees in a section where the
contextual focus centers on them (peri de t_n parthen_n, v. 25),
and where the interpersonal second-person pronoun is used for
their male counterparts (six times in vv. 27–28a), the discourse,
intentionally or unintentionally, establishes an interpersonal
distance with the female addressees and renders them invisible.
The female addressees are consistently spoken about and never
spoken to, like persons who are present but remain in the background, excluded from direct participation in discussions that
have huge existential implications for them.
21-119 James Starr, Johannelund Theological Seminary
Letter Openings in Paul and Plato
This paper seeks to demonstrate that the Pauline letters consistently open by reviewing the Pauline worldview, typically
composed of six components: (1) Christ’s death and resurrection as the foundation of the whole; (2) the recipients’ positive
response to God’s call; (3) God’s divine gifts and presence to the
recipients; (4) the present status of their faith and witness; (5)
the next step needed for the readers’ spiritual growth or moral
progress; and (6) history’s culmination at Christ’s return and
their entry into eternal life. Paul’s convictions about God’s workings in the world and the readers’ participation in God’s activity
are never argued; they are simply assumed to be the readers’
convictions as well.
21-119 Hermut Loehr, University of Münster
The Greek Propitiatory Inscriptions and Dedications of Lydia
and Phrygia: Present State of Research and Relevance for Early
Christian Moral Thought
The paper evaluates the present state of research on the Greek
propitiatory inscriptions from Lydia and Phrygia and asks for
their relevance for the understanding of moral thought in Early
Christianity inside and outside the New Testament It thus deals
with a corpus of texts which were taken into account by New
Testament scholarship especially in the first half of the 20th
century, but which seem to play no significant role in present
reflection of New Testament and Early Christian ethics. The social sphere of the texts, however, and the close connection of
religious thought, anthropological notions and morality emerging, make them an apt candidate for an essay in comparative
religious ethics in antiquity.
21-119 Stephanie Cobb, Hofstra University
The Martyrdom of Polycarp and the Noble Death
We know that some ancient readers (e.g., Celsus) found depictions of Jesus’ suffering and agony problematic. Greg Sterling has
argued that these difficulties drove Luke to rewrite Jesus’ death in
the “noble death” tradition. Similar concerns about the portrayal of an individual’s death exist in The Martyrdom of Polycarp.
While scholars have long acknowledged that the author of the
MartPol employs a pronounced imitatio Christi motif, they have
overlooked allusions to the noble death tradition in MartPol
that reveal Polycarp’s imitation of Socrates. This paper will show
that the author of MartPol assigns a double imitation: Polycarp
imitates Jesus—seen in the pedestrian imitatio—and Polycarp
imitates Socrates—this is more subtle and is intended (by sleight
of hand) to imply that Jesus’ death was like Socrates’s death. In
addition to the narrative emphasis on the divine sign, there are
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many other similarities between the accounts of Socrates’s and
Polycarp’s deaths: both men are described as “noble;” they are
both executed (in part) on the charge of atheism; they refuse to
flee to save their lives; they take control of their deaths; they pray
before dying; the accounts of their deaths refer to sacrifices; they
are explicitly said to have been old; and their deaths were models
for others. In this paper I will show that the imitation of Christ
is hermeneutically significant when read in light of the imitation
of Socrates. I will argue that the author of MartPol is reconceptualizing Jesus’ death by his implicit allusions to noble deaths (e.g.,
Socrates, Seneca, and Cato). Thus by writing Polycarp’s death in
the noble death tradition, this author simultaneously claims that
tradition for Jesus. The Martyrdom of Polycarp, therefore, serves
as an apology for Jesus’ death, specifically, and for Christian beliefs generally.
21-119 Daniele Pevarello, University of Cambridge
“A Struggle for Self-control”: Sexual Morality at the Crossroads of
Christian and Pythagorean Traditions
The question about continuities and discontinuities between
Hellenistic morality and early Christianity in matters of marriage
and sexuality is relevant both to the study of New Testament sexual ethics and to the history of asceticism and early monasticism.
This paper will examine the teachings on sexual morality in the
second century CE collection of sayings known as the Sentences
of Sextus. For his collection, Sextus edited and adapted a great
number of maxims that are still extant in other non-Christian
sources and belong to a wider, mostly Pythagorean, philosophical tradition. The Sentences of Sextus, therefore, offer a unique
viewpoint on the meeting, and at times the colliding, of these
different moralities and represent a sort of literary snapshot of
that encounter. The paper will focus on three themes in Sextus’
teaching on sexuality: celibacy and sexual renunciation, procreation and reproductive conduct and the connection between
diet and sexuality. While highlighting affinities and differences
between the traditions coexisting in the collection, the paper
will try to find a way out of the impasse of the continuity/discontinuity model. It will be shown that exactly where continuity
is to be found (the editing of “previous traditions”) also utter
discontinuity lies (the “editing” of previous traditions).
21-120 Michael Thomas Davis, Princeton Theological
Seminary
1 Samuel 31 and the Battle of Til-Tuba/Ulai River: Shared Narrative Topoi
One of the most celebrated works of Neo-Assyrian sculptural art
is the depiction of Assurbanipal’s defeat of the Elamite king Teuman at the Ulai River ca 653 BCE. This work was an extensive
bas-relief that was situated in both in Sennacherib’s Southwest
Palace (Room XXXIII) and later continued in Assurbanipal’s
own North Palace (Room I). The most extensive fragments of
this relief are now in the British Museum. It has been deservedly
described as the most sophisticated and complex example of
the Neo-Assyrian bas-relief, incorporating literally hundreds of
painstakingly executed figures, while presenting a coherent and
dynamic visual narrative of the flow of battle right up to the decapitation of the Elamite king and the triumphant presentation
of the head to Assurbanipal as well as Assurbanipal’s presentation of the head to his patron deity. An innovative and striking
feature of this relief is that worked within (not outside the action,
but literally within the action of the battle) the overall composition of the work are a number of cuneiform epigraphs which
“tag” the development of the narrative action as it moves along.
This not only explains to the literate viewer what each scene
depicts but helps even the illiterate viewer to pick out the impor-
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tant vignettes from the welter of figures in combat. This strategy
has been described as giving the relief a “cinematic’ or “comic
strip” structure. These epigraphs are an essential elements in the
overall composition of the work and seamlessly incorporates
both visual and literary narrative in a single unified whole. Consequently, the story the relief conveys can be understood in great
and precise detail. Now, when one reads this story of the defeat
of a rival king by a Neo-Assyrian emperor again the narrative of
the defeat, death and beheading of Saul in 1 Samuel 31 we find
that the narrative has many features in common with the story
of the Battle of Til-Tuba, not the least of which is the Elamite
king’s mortal wounding and his request that he be despatched by
a common foot soldier so that he be put out of his misery–episodes all made explicit by epigraphs associated with the scenes.
This paper will bring out a number of points of narrative parallel
between the Battle of Til-Tuba and the Death of Saul in order to
argue that both works, in visual and literary terms, are drawing
from a common stock of topoi related to the defeat of royal rivals
on the field of battle. Particular attention will be given to how, in
comparison and contrast to the agenda found in Assurbanipal’s
relief, the DtrH has taken these topoi and conformed them to its
narrative relating the “rivalry” between David and Saul and the
legitimacy of David’s succession to the throne.
21-120 Regine Hunziker-Rodewald, University of Strasbourg, France
On the Function of the Royal Weapon Carrier in Image and Text:
King Saul and His Bodyguard.
The typos of the royal weapon carrier or bow carrier in the
iconography of the Neo-Assyrian reliefs sheds new light on
the delicate relationship of Saul and David as it is depicted in the narratives of the first book of Samuel. Studying the
stereotypes attached to the pictorial representation of the NeoAssyrian weapon bearers—their particular equipment and their
attitude—may contribute to a new and refined understanding of
the “inauguration scene” in 1 Sam 16,14ff. It may also aid us in
interpreting the allusions, references and hidden polemics in the
description of Saul’s death in 1 Sam 31, as well as the portrayal
of that same event in 2 Sam 1. In addition, the “bow’s song”
intoned by David, the former bow carrier, when commemorating his king, acquires some new and significant nuances in this
perspective. The presentation will include a short glance at the
Behistun relief and inscription.
21-120 Rolf Jacobson, Luther Seminary
Iconography and the ‘Proud Crown of Ephraim’ in Isaiah 28
It is common for interpreters to identify the “proud garland of
the drunkards of Ephraim” (Isa 28:1, 3) as a metaphor for the
walls of Samaria, based on a supposed visual similarity between
the “garland” (‘atarah) on a human head and the walls of a city
on a hilltop. The ancient iconographic evidence suggests that a
different interpretation is more likely, namely, that the ‘atarah
hould be understood as referring to the human king (and thus
translated as “crown”). The oracle should, in turn, be understood
within the framework of royal oracles.
21-120 F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp, Princeton Theological Seminary
The Ekphrastic Image in Song 5:9–16
I. Winter, in her contribution to the symposium celebrating the
tenth anniversary of the New-Assyrian Text Corpus Project a
number of years ago, observes that no longer can one “look at
the verbal domains of information and not include the visual
in the larger universe of cultural communication,” because, she
says, “the visual domain contains within it primary information, as well as unique structurs of knowledge—oftentimes in
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parallel with, even occasionally quite distinct from, the textual
record” (p. 359). Winter, of course, is referring in these comments explicitly to the Mesopotamian context, but undoubtedly
her observation holds for the larger ancient Near East, including
the southern Levant. Indeed, the last several decades have seen
art historians and archaeologists making key contributions to
our understanding of the literature of the Bible by insisting on
the relevance of visual and other material remains. Still, much
remains to be done. I am especially interested in tapping the “visual domain” as a means toward a richer appreciation of poetic
imagery and how this imagery signifies. As an example I want to
look at Song 5:10–16, the lone wasßf in the Song that focuses on
the male lover. All the wasßfs, as poems that revel in and exalt
the beloved’s body, depend most crucially on imagery for their
success. The wasßf in Song 5:10–16 is of special interest because
it would appear to draw most explicitly on images related to
sculpture, and especially sculpture in the round—and hence the
relevance of Winter’s comments cited above. Gillis Gerleman. of
course, has argued most aggressively for the dependence of the
imagery in this poem specifically on a knowledge of Egyptian
sculpture. In what follows I attempt to democratize and nuance
Gerleman’s insights. And more particularly, I will suggest that
in this passage we have quite the stunning example of ekphrasis, an attempt “to imitate in words an object of the plastic arts”
(Krieger, p. 6).
21-121 Patrick J. Hartin, Gonzaga University
Ethos and Ethics of the Didache: Affinity with Other Early Jesus
Groups Within Judaism?
The ethos of a people or a community points to its very identity
and vision: this is who we are and this is what distinguishes us
from other groups or communities. The ethos gives rise to the
ethics of the community: those rules, values, guidelines to which
members of the community adhere and which express their identity. This paper analyzes the Didache with a view to disclosing
the ethos and identity of the community which it reflects. This
analysis also leads to an examination of the ethical admonitions
occurring as boundary markers that give expression to the identity of the community of the Didache. The ethical admonitions
of the Didache all occur in a theological rather than Christological context. Among the ethical admonitions, attention is given
to the Jewish Two Ways of Did 3:1–6; the Double Command
of Love; and concepts such as “being perfect” (teleios) and “being double-minded” (dipsychein). The second part of this paper
examines the ethos, identity and similar ethical admonitions
within three other documents from Jesus groups within Judaism, namely the Letter of James, the Sermon on the Mount and
the Two Ways teaching found in the Letter of Barnabas. Based
on this investigation, possible affinities among these documents
will emerge.
21-121 Magnus Zetterholm, Lund University
“Will the Real Gentile-Christian Please Stand Up!”: Didache and
the Crisis of Identity Formation in the Early Jesus Movement
The recent developments within Pauline studies have far-reaching consequences for how we are to perceive the interaction
between Jews and non-Jews within the early Jesus movement.
Whereas previous scholarship almost exclusively presumed that
Paul opposed Judaism and the Torah, an increasing amount of
scholars now try to find other interpretative keys to Paul than
the traditional dichotomy between Paul and Judaism. Reconstructing the development of the early Jesus movement from
the assumption that Paul remained within Judaism involves
an extensive reevaluation of the labels “Jewish-” and “Gentile”Christianity respectively. If Paul shared the belief with basically
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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all other Jews within the Jesus movement that the Torah still was
an appropriate way for Jews to express their loyalty to the God
of Israel, the problem of defining “Jewish-Christianity” seems
less important. This paper suggests that we rather focus on the
identity of Gentile-Christians. Confusion as to who was to be
considered a true non-Jewish follower of Jesus constituted a major complex of problems within the movement, leading to the
emergence of multiple “Gentile-Christian” identities. It is argued
that Did. 6:2–3 represents one standpoint among several prevalent ones within the movement. It is further suggested that the
inability within the early Jesus movement to find a common solution to the problem of how to define a non-Jewish follower of
Jesus, especially with regard to Torah observance, led to a situation in which non-Jews began to find their own ways of creating
an identity as Christ-believers, an identity, however, that left no
room for Jews.
21-121 Peter J. Tomson, Faculty for Protestant Theology,
Brussels
The Genesis of the ChristianJewish Conflict and the Position of
Didache and Barnabas
Although the social sciences have gained their rightful place in
the theologicalfaculties, a sociological approach of early Christian history can not yet be taken for granted. This especially
concerns the separation of Christianity from Judaism. The popular model of ‘the parting of the ways’ suggests a separation of
friends because of irreparably differing views. Rather, taking in
sociological insights about the correlation between social polarisation and violence, the hypothesis is here presented that it was
the sociopolitical polarisation process generated by the series of
Jewish wars against Rome (66135 CE) which harnessed doctrinal and ritual differences and triggered the separation of Jews
and Christians. Two related documents that are of special interest to this seminar, Didache and PsBarnabas, are found to take
more or less opposite positions in this separation process.
21-121 Huub van de Sandt, Tilburg University
The Twofold Image of the Yoke: Didache 6:2–3 and Matthew
11:25–30
There are significant agreements between the Didache and the
Gospel of Matthew as concerns words, phrases and motifs.
In order to account for the undisputed correspondences, we
assume that the Didache and Matthew are related in their dependence on common tradition. In Matthew and Didache, the
ethical obligations for members of their respective communities are defined in remarkably Jewish terms of Torah observance.
Both documents are interested in moral norms and argue the
continuing value of a properly interpreted Torah. In contrast to
the boundary markers and self-definition of Antiochian Christianity as e.g. found in Ignatius, they still have a sense of sectarian
identity within a Jewish matrix. My paper focuses on two passages, Didache 6:2–3 and Matt 11:25–30, both of which talk
about the Torah as a ‘yoke’. Before commenting on the passages’
significance we have to investigate the imagery of the yoke. Why
is the Torah discussed in terms of a ‘yoke’ in each of the two
documents? In Matthew the yoke is not burdensome but comfortable and light whereas in the Didache it represents labor and
obligation. How can this yoke symbolize both compulsion and
lightness? How to resolve this paradox? Could the image of the
yoke be part of an anti-Parisaic polemic? What, then, is the point
made in each passage?
21-126 Daniel A. Smith, Huron University College
On the Reception of the Supper Parable in Q (Q 14:16–23)
The parallel in Thomas 64 to Q’s parable about the invited dinner guests allows investigation of the reception of the parable in
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Q. This paper considers the rhetorical and redactional features
of several adjacent sayings (Q 13:24–27; 29–28; 34–35; [13:30];
[14:11]) in relation to the parable. Rhetorically speaking the
adjacent sayings employ argumentative patterns dealing with
dining (invitation and exclusion), space (public/private), status
reversal, and rejection and vindication. While studying these
patterns may not bring any resolution to the difficult questions
surrounding the reconstruction of the parable, it may provide
insight into the compositional processes in this section of Q.
21-126 Joseph Verheyden, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Trouble with Reconstructing Q Parables
Several of the Q parables are among the most difficult texts to
reconstruct. In a few cases (e.g., Q 14,16–24 and 19,12–27) a
significant majority of scholars is even most hesitant to assign
these parables to Q and has advanced several critical arguments.
The paper discusses the validity of such arguments and proposes
a possible explanation for why Matthew and Luke both felt so
free to alter and add to the version that was transmitted in Q.
This explanation is (in part) based on the way they have worked
with Mark’s parables and on how both evangelists have been restructuring Q.
21-126 Ronald A. Piper, University of St. Andrews-Scotland
Seeking and Finding the One that is Lost: Q and the Troublesome
Parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin
Not even the Critical Edition of Q was able to bring respite from
debates about the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin in Q.
In addition to the question of whether Q contained a single parable (Q 15:4–7) or a gender-balanced pair of parables (Q 15:4–7,
8–10), there are also significant questions about the wording
and immediate context for the Q version of the parable(s). These
questions strongly affect matters of interpretation. Both parables
are clearly addressing questions of “community” and not just an
individual, because in each case attention is drawn to the fact
that one of a larger number of sheep or coins is “lost” or “goes
astray.” The relationship of the one and the many thus comes to
the fore, as well as questions about the context in which one is
“lost.” This in turn draws attention to interesting parallels with
other sayings in Q in potentially immediate and more distant
contexts.
21-127 Christiana de Groot, Calvin College
Contextualizing The Woman’s Bible
In the fifteen years since the publication of Searching the Scriptures edited by E. Schussler Fiorenza, work on the history of
women’s interpretation in the nineteenth-century has continued
unabated. The analysis of Fiorenza in the introductions of Volume 1 and 2 pointed the way to further exploration of Elizabeth
Cady Stanton’s The Woman’s Bible. This paper will set the stage
for the subsequent panelists by situating this landmark publication in its context of nineteenth century discussions on the
nature of Christianity, scripture, woman and the basis for emancipation made by various groups of suffragettes.
21-127 Claudia Setzer, Manhattan College
A Jewish Reading of The Woman’s Bible
This paper will examine the mixed attitudes towards Jews and
Judaism in The Woman’s Bible, including classical religious
anti-Judaism, as well as acquaintance with liberal Jews and their
non-literal exegesis of Scripture. It will consider the influence
of the emerging historical-critical method, the undermining of
biblical authority, Orientalism, and nineteenth-century ideas of
progressive revelation.
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21-127 Emerson B. Powery, Messiah College
Race, Gender and Class: Womanist and African American Interpretation and The Woman’s Bible
This presentation will offer an analysis of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s The Woman’s Bible through the lens of Womanist biblical
hermeneutics. It will discuss the use of Cady Stanton’s project
in 20th century Womanist scholarship. In addition, it will compare and contrast the interpretations of key passages and figures
in African American scholarship and in The Woman’s Bible,
including “Hagar/Sarah,” “Vashti/Esther,” Moses’ Cushite wife,
and others.
21-127 Tat-siong Benny Liew, Pacific School of Religion
Making Waves: The Woman’s Bible in the Wake of Asian American Feminist Sensibilities
The Woman’s Bible clearly made some public waves at the time
of its publication, given some of the negative publicity against it
during this era of first-wave feminism. The term, “making waves,”
has, of course, been used to title two of the earliest anthologies
by and about Asian American women (1989; 1997) to talk about
not only their activism as feminists but also their history as—to
use the title of yet another well-known Asian American text—
”strangers from a different shore” (Takaki 1989). In this paper, I
will attempt to evaluate the importance and inadequacies of The
Woman’s Bible in light of what I have learned from the experiences and writings of Asian American feminists.
21-128 Michael W. Martin, Lubbock Christian University
Rhetorical Topics and Mark: How Ancient Compositional Training Has Shaped the Structure and Content of the Second Gospel
This study proposes to examine the rhetorical topic lists of the
ancient classroom for the potential insights they may lend into
the Second Gospel’s portrait of Jesus. Such lists, which ancient
Greco-Roman students learned upon entering the third and
highest level of education, offer promise for such an investigation in several regards. First, the lists taught the educated the
constituent parts of the human personality as imagined in the
Greco-Roman world—the “headings” or “topoi” by which a
life was to be divided in literate discourse. Hence the lists can
help familiarize the modern reader with a manner of dividing
the human personality that is likely to be encountered in the
literature of the period, and one that is likely culturally foreign
to that reader. Second, the lists taught the educated the values
and standards by which a person would be deemed worthy of
“praise.” Indeed, the lists served as a rubric by which a topicby-topic assessment of a person could be made, and they were
accompanied by commentary and examples of topics illustrating
both the content of the topic and the specific characteristics the
culture deemed praiseworthy. Hence the lists help illustrate for
the modern reader a manner and meaning of “praise” that, again,
is both culturally foreign and likely to be encountered in the literature of the period. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the
lists were learned by the educated as compositional templates for
all genres of discourse, both oral and written, that present the
human personality in its constituent parts. Thus the lists can potentially shed valuable light on the composition and structure of
any topically ordered discourse. The Gospel of Mark, this study
argues, is such a discourse, featuring not only a topical presentation of Jesus, but also following in its composition and structure
a topical outline.
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21-128 Alexandra Gruca-Macaulay, Saint Paul University
Distinguishing between Form-derived Rhetorical Purpose and
Lloyd Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation: Implications for Luke-Acts
Studies
Rhetorical investigations of Luke-Acts have frequently identified rhetorical forms—textual genres or patterns—as evidence
for rhetorical purpose (i.e, the reason for the rhetoric itself).
For example, earlier interpreters often classified Luke-Acts as
a “historiography” and argued that its purpose was to demonstrate “the victorious spread of the Word,” or “growth in the
early church;” more recently, the classification of “historiography” has led authors to identify “rhetorical declamation” as
evidence that Acts is intended to edify members in the values of
an idealized city-state (Penner) or that Acts employs an historical apologetic to attract new members (Matthews). Implicitly,
the proposed rhetorical purposes for the forms have become
synonymous with the proposed rhetorical situations, which, as
Lloyd Bitzer suggests, “called the discourse into existence.” Yet, is
defining rhetorical form sufficient for explaining the rhetorical
situation(s)? Does deriving purpose from form adequately investigate the available field of data which potentially contributes
to rhetorical situation, including people, events, places, as well
as cultural, social, historical, religious, economic, and political
factors? This paper proposes that Bitzer’s theory of rhetorical situation, as refined by subsequent scholarship, helps to re-situate
the point of departure for rhetorical criticism such that (1) form
transacts with rhetorical situation within the constituent category of “constraints” (elements which might help or hinder the
discourse) and, (2) rhetorical situation is investigated through
the interaction of its constituents which include exigence, rhetor,
constraints and audience. One potential outcome of such a shift
is the ability to comprehend both the discernment of and the
configuration of related rhetorical situations. Distinguishing
rhetorical situation from form-derived rhetorical purpose can
help (1) propel new insights concerning rhetorical situation(s)
of Luke-Acts, (2) acknowledge and engage with the multiplicity
of rhetorical situations, and (3) clarify issues of unity and disunity of the Luke-Acts corpus.
21-128 Kathy Maxwell, Palm Beach Atlantic University
Encouraging Audience Participation: The Author’s Role in Textual Variants?
Variants within the biblical manuscripts have already proven
fertile ground for extrapolating ancient scribal habits and remembering theological developments. They may also contribute
to our understanding of the responses of the ancient audience
to the biblical narrative. The untrained hearer of the biblical
story and the skilled scribe trusted as a copyist were separated,
certainly, by education among other things. Both, however, experienced the narrative, and responded, perhaps in similar ways.
The biblical text was written with the audience in mind. Evidence
from ancient rhetorical handbooks reveals that ancient authors
and rhetors carefully considered the audience as they composed. As part of that consideration, authors used various tools
to encourage audience participation through 1) attention and 2)
creation of story with the author, leading to 3) moral formation.
At the crossroads of these two ideas, I propose that early variants
may preserve examples of one ancient audience’s response to the
tools used by authors to encourage the audience’s participation.
For this project, I intend to examine variants in Codex Bezae’s
text of Acts, evaluating them based on six proposed tools used
by ancient authors to encourage audience participation. My goal
is to discover whether or not variants in D’s text of Acts imply 1)
that these tools were used by the author of Acts, and 2) that the
audience, in this case, a scribe(s), was responding to these tools
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in appreciable ways through what are now called Western interpolations. With this project, I hope to contribute to the ongoing
discussion of audience criticism and the Bible, and address a literary/rhetorical aspect of textual criticism.
21-128 Peter Perry, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
The Rhetoric of Digressions
This paper provides an overview of the use of digressions in
ancient rhetorical theory and practice. Awareness of the use of
digressions helps us better understand how and why ancient
authors deviated from their announced order. Digressions
were a common rhetorical technique discussed in two divergent traditions. The first tradition (represented by Hermagoras,
Cicero, and Quintilian, who use the term “parekbasis”) advocates breaking the order of the argument primarily in order to
stimulate the audience’s emotions or to develop ethos. A second
tradition (represented by the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium
and Anonymous Seguerianus) limits the location and content
of digressions and prefers the term “paradiêgêsis.” Both traditions indicate that digressions should be essential to the overall
rhetorical effect even if unessential to the logical order of the
argument. In this way, a digression can be a window into the
author’s goals. In practice, digressions were sometimes explicitly announced (what I call “articulated”) and other times used
without comment (“unarticulated”). Josephus’ Vita provides
examples of both kinds that provide unique insight into his
situation and goals. In the New Testament, Revelation 7 is an
example of digression between the sixth and seventh seal. If we
are aware that some ancient authors used digressions as part of
their rhetorical strategy, these unessential yet essential passages
can illuminate an author’s situation and goals.
21-130 Richard A. Layton, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
Eve’s Distaff: A Trace of the Origenist Controversy in Christian
Art?
This paper will explore, in the context of late-antique exegetical
controversies, depictions of the expulsion in early and medieval
Christian art. Although Gen. 3:21 describes God as clothing the couple with “skin tunics” before their departure from
Eden, Christian artists most frequently represented the expelled
couple as naked or wearing fig leaves. A variant convention represented Eve, clothed in a woven tunic, carrying from the garden
a distaff, defining her paradigmatic labor as to produce cloth
and garments from natural fibers. While this representation
might reflect a conception of a division of labor between male
and female, it also varies from the Genesis text, which defines
child-bearing as the prototype of women’s work. This fluidity of
iconographic conventions, as well as its departure from textual
models, may reflect responses to criticisms of literal readings of
Gen. 3:21. The skin tunics became a flashpoint in the Origenist
controversy when supporters of Origen referred this verse to an
alteration in the post-lapsarian embodied condition, rather than
a bestowal of animal hides as primitive clothing. Although orthodox interpreters attacked the Origenists, two criticisms of literal
interpretation proved tenacious: how could God’s robing of the
couple be appropriate to divine dignity, and how could God have
made hide garments without killing animals? One iconographic
response to these critiques was to avoid depicting the garments
at all, thus representing clothing as a post-Edenic cultural development. A second strategy was to depict Eve with her distaff
as the originator of clothing. This move was undergirded by an
exegetical argument developed specifically to deflect Origenist
criticism. Such defenders of the historicity of the text held that
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God did not clothe the couple, but instructed the woman how
to make garments. I will document this exegetical argument and
link it to the iconography of the expulsion.
21-130 John Byron, Ashland Theological Seminary
Righteous Abel and the Cry for Vengeance
Genesis 4 contains the story of the first murder in biblical history. Genesis 4 is also short on details. In 4:1–2 we are told the
names of Eve’s two sons and their respective occupations. The
story then immediately shifts to a description of their sacrificial
practices. Genesis does not provide any details about the brothers apart from their names and occupations. We are not told, for
instance, why God accepted one sacrifice over that of another. In
fact, Abel does not even get a speaking part in this drama. The
only details and conversations that are provided are those which
help set up the climax of the story, Cain’s murder of Abel. But
in spite of the paucity of detail, ancient interpreters attributed
characteristics to the brothers that earned them a place in the
annals of re-written Bible. Abel, in particular, emerged as a figure of righteousness and vengeance. This is striking since there
is no mention of Abel’s righteousness in Genesis 4 much less a
presentation of him as a vengeful figure. Yet, this is how we encounter Abel in some later Jewish and Christian literature. This
paper traces the exegetical developments that saw the once silent
Abel transformed into an eschatological figure that represents
the personification of vengeance. The paper examines some of
the interpretive traditions associated with the figure of Abel in
Jewish and Christian literature with attention to the exegetical
development of Abel’s crying blood in Genesis 4:10. Particular
consideration is given to Abel’s role as petitioner in 1 Enoch
22:5–7 and as judge of creation in the Testament of Abraham
13.
21-130 Naomi Hilton, University of Cambridge
Rethinking 3 Baruch: Rewritten Bible in an Early Jewish-Christian Apocalypse
3 Baruch is a Jewish-Christian ascent apocalypse from the late
first to early second century CE. One way it differs from most
other contemporary Jewish-Christian literature is the prominence it gives to the tower of Babel account from Genesis. Other
texts that explore the Babel account in detail are Jubilees and
Pseudo-Philo’s LAB, both of which are commonly categorised
as rewritten bibles. As a type of literature that draws on scripture, ‘rewritten bible’ is a problematic and contested category
that continues to be redefined and even questioned. The term
broadly refers to new compositions based on the Bible rather
than authoritative biblical texts. I will explore 3 Baruch’s use of
the Babel narrative using rewritten bible as an analytical tool
rather than a category of literature. The aim is to demonstrate
how a ‘category’ may be used as a framework for exegesis rather than simply as an end point in which to allocate texts. The
methodological point then is not whether 3 Baruch is actually
rewritten bible, but what can be learnt by discussing it as such.
The purpose of this strategy is to bring into focus certain aspects
of the text that have been missed in other analyses. In particular,
I demonstrate how 3 Baruch seeks to shape an interpretation of
the Babel narrative, and thereby express and influence the world
view of the community to which it was significant. It does this
by filling descriptive lacunae, adding extra-biblical traditions to
the narrative, and smoothing over inconsistencies and resolving
ambiguities in the original. All of these are, according to Alexander, characteristic of rewritten bible. I shall then explore the
interplay of this analysis with the apocalyptic reading to which 3
Baruch is more commonly subjected.
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21-130 Jeffrey P. García, New York University
The Bible Rewritten: Stephen’s Speech and Early Jewish Biblical
Interpretation in the Second Temple Period
Scholarship has long noted the similarities between Stephen’s
speech in the book of Acts and the Samaritan Pentateuch (e.g.
Hamilton, NICOT, 1990; Munck, AB, 1967; Fitzmyer, AB, 1998).
Little attention, however, has been given to those portions that
are missing from the Samaritan Pentateuch, and, consequently
have no parallel in the Masoretic Tradition, or Septuagint. Stephen’s speech is, in fact, partly derived from alternate sources
and more closely related to the corpus Early Jewish biblical
interpretations. For example, referencing Jacob’s sons as “patriarchs” (Acts 7:8, 9) and angelic mediation at Sinai (Acts 7:38, 53)
represent interpretations and expansions of biblical narratives
preserved in the Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha, and Dead Sea
Scrolls. Stephen’s speech is not a simple composite of Israel’s history extracted from the Hebrew or Samaritan Pentateuch, but a
complex of biblical exegesis, which reflect the dynamic interpretation of the Bible during the Second Temple Period. Therefore,
the purpose of this study will be to examine Stephen’s speech in
light of early Jewish biblical interpretations and its implication
for understanding the use of Scripture during the formative days
of the nascent Christianity.
21-130 Brandon Crowe, University of Edinburgh
Evaluating the Historical Plausibility of Intertextual Interpretations: Deuteronomy as a Test Case
It is argued in this paper that intertextual studies of ancient scripture must be informed by the historical plausibility of specific
claims. Thus, a consideration of the extent of a text’s circulation
in the ancient world and its utilization in other ancient writings
should be requisite components of any study that explores potential intertextual connections. The more widely a document was
known and used in the ancient world, the more likely it will be
that the influence of this same document is operative elsewhere.
The present paper will apply these methodological considerations
to one significant component of the Hebrew Bible: the Book of
Deuteronomy. This will be done in two stages. The first will consider the textual history of Deuteronomy in both Second Temple
Jewish and early Christian circles. Attention here will be given
to such questions as the extent of Deuteronomy’s circulation in
relation to other books of the Hebrew Bible, which portions of
Deuteronomy have most often been found preserved, and the
textual character of the extant copies of Deuteronomy. The second part of the paper will then focus on the use of Deuteronomy
in early Jewish and Christian writings. Here I will discuss which
portions of Deuteronomy were utilized most often, the types of
documents in which Deuteronomy was used, and some of the
interpretive methods employed with reference to Deuteronomy.
The paper will conclude by offering some practical implications
for intertextual studies relating to Deuteronomy specifically, as
well as some broader methodological suggestions that will hopefully engender better exegesis and lead to the most historically
defensible insights.
21-131a Rebecca Skaggs, Patten University
Kierkegaard’s Hermeneutic
Soren Kierkegaard has been analyzed and written about as a philosopher, theologian, preacher, and poet; but until recently few
have looked at him as an interpreter of scripture. Kierkegaard
calls for an appropriation of the biblical message by scholars and
preachers, and protests strongly against the cowardly and timid
use of scripture by the Church and scholars of his day. He also
condemns biblical scholars of his day for defending themselves
against God’s Word by concentrating on lexicons and com14
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mentaries, rather than on the meaning of the text. Kierkegaard
himself, however, devotes considerable effort to exegeting the
scriptures, as seen for example, in Fear and Trembling, Concept
of Dread, Works of Love, and Discourses. In order to do such
exegesis, he uses principles of interpretation. Yet, somewhat
ironically, he does not consider the possibility that perhaps he,
himself, has joined those he has so strongly protested against.
It is not the purpose of this paper to exhaust all of Kierkegaard’s
voluminous writings to show the emergence of his exegetical
principles (for a discussion of this, see Rosas’ dissertation, “The
Function of Scripture in the Thought of Soren Kierkegaard”);
neither is it to defend or attack his position on the inadequacy of
historical inquiry for faith. Perhaps a discussion of Kierkegaard’s
hermeneutics could shed light on the problem of faith/history,
but we will not deal with it here. It is the purpose of this paper
to consider Kierkegaard’s general use of scripture in light of hermeneutical principles. We suggest that his hermeneutic can be
found in his concept of ‘repetition’. Hence, first we will explain
his concept, and then we will relate it to his use of scripture.
21-131a Andrew Zack Lewis, University of St. AndrewsScotland
Irony and the Appropriation of Job by the Young Man in Kierkegaard’s Repetition
In Kierkegaard’s challenging book Repetition, Constantin Constantius narrates his interaction with a nameless young man
over the course of several months. Constantin publishes his
correspondence in the second half of Repetition, which mainly
consists of unanswered letters from the young man. During the
course of the letters, the young man begins to discuss the biblical
book of Job, giving his interpretation of Job in the process. Looking carefully at the young man’s interpretation, one can see that
he begins to identify with Job so profoundly that he attributes
the characters of the biblical book to other characters in his own
life. The young man’s appropriation of Job leads to a very creative
interpretation of the biblical book, namely he finds a cause-effect
relationship for the ironic conclusion where Job receives everything back from God despite the rebuke of the Theophany. The
cause and effect do not reflect the logic of the material world but
display an absurdity. Repetition gives us insight into the book
of Job and also helps us understand Kierkegaard’s hermeneutics. Noting the role irony has in Kierkegaard’s work, however,
one cannot necessarily assume that Kierkegaard himself would
endorse the young man’s appropriation of the character of Job.
Thus, along with highlighting Repetition’s insights into the Book
of Job, we will also note how Kierkegaard’s hermeneutic principles, especially appropriation and Socratic irony, contribute to
his interpretation.
21-132 Robert R. Phenix, Jr., Eenovate Consulting, LLC
Adam and His Offspring: Comparative Perspectives on Trajectories in Syriac Christian and Early Islamic Literature
This paper traces selected lines of development of traditions on
Adam and his offspring, both male (Cain, Abel, Seth) and female, in early Syriac, Arabic Christian, and Islamic (quranic and
Quran-commentary) literature. The study of the points of intersection contributes to the growing corpus of scholarly literature
on how Biblical narratives were transformed when similar traditions appeared in the Christian and the Islamic milieux. Cain,
Abel, and Seth are three important figures in Syriac literature;
these figures are also an important component of Manichaean
cosmogony. Understanding the transmission and reception of
these biblical characters serves to highlight the contacts between
the four great Near Eastern religions of late antiquity. The role
of Christian Arabic literature in this process of transmission de-
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serves special attention. The role of Manichaean pathways in the
transmission of material into the background of the Qur’an and
early Islam has previously been indicated; this study follows that
line of inquiry.
21-132 Alden Bass, Saint Louis University
Retelling ‘the Fairest of Stories’: The Yusuf Motif in the Lives of
Muhammad and Contemporary Extra-Islamic Sources
The importance of the prophet Yusuf in the Qu’ran reflects the
central place of this primordial narrative in the religious literature of antiquity. As a motif of the righteous man who has
been wronged, the story appears at Qumran as a type of their
beleaguered community, in early Christian circles as a type of
Christ, and in Islamic traditions as a type of Muhammad. Surah
12 is clearly intended to echo Muhammad’s own struggle to introduce monotheism into a polytheistic culture. In each case,
different aspects of Joseph’s life have been emphasized, such as
his chastity in the face of temptation, his fidelity in face of evil,
and his confidence in God’s revelation in the face of violent opposition. Although much study has been accomplished on the
textual similarities between Surah 12 and Genesis 37–50, the
more subtle appearance of the narrative in less well-known texts,
including material from the Syriac tradition, has largely been
neglected. This essay will examine this familiar motif in the Sirat
Nabawiyya, or Life of the Prophet, the collection of early biographies of Muhammad. It will then turn to contemporaneous
Jewish and Oriental Christian sources, particularly commentaries on Genesis, in order to examine how the same narrative
motif was appropriated by those communities. The comparative
approach to this story common to disparate communities may
allow one to discern points of confluence between them.
21-132 Mark F. Whitters, Eastern Michigan University
Seven Heroic Youths Who Die in a Cave: Constructing Group
Identity
The famous story involving seven heroic youths who die (or hibernate) in a cave for their people circulated freely among the
people of the ancient world from Crete to Kabul, from Maccabees to Mohammed. Besides entertaining audiences, these stories
promoted group identities and privileged, for example, Athenian
Greeks over rival Minoans, Palestinian Jews over Hellenistic Seleucids, Syriac Christians over imperial Romans, Muslims over
polytheistic Arabs. Given the story’s sacrificial context, it is not
surprising that a cultic theme was at the heart of its message.
Eventually, competing oral traditions required authoritative or
“scripturalized” accounts. Homer, the Septuagint, the Talmud,
the Quran, and Syriac hagiography all show how various groups
claim the blessing of the seven youths who die in a cave.
21-132 Cornelia B. Horn, Saint Louis University
Jacob of Sarug’s Work as a Conduit for the Transmission and
Reception of Hagiographical and Apocryphal Traditions into the
World of Emerging Islam
This paper situates aspects of the reception of the work of Jacob
of Sarug, a prolific poet, monk, and bishop of the fifth century,
in the milieu of emerging Islam. Jacob’s writings were used in
the hymnody of the liturgical life of Eastern Christian churches.
Although much of his work remains unedited or untranslated,
it was a crucial conduit for the transmission of hagiographical
and apocryphal material in the Byzantine period. Syriac- and
Arabic-speaking Christians sang his popular compositions in
their churches located in cities such as Jerusalem and Edessa,
that is, in areas that were frequented by pre-Islamic Arab traders
from Peninsular Arabia. Evidence of contact between Jacob of
Sarug and Christians in South Arabia also is available. Several
of Jacob’s compositions reveal parallels to themes or narratives
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treated in the Qur’an and further developed in early Islamic exegesis. In Surat al-Kahf [18]:9–26, the Qur’an tells the story of
the Companions of the Cave, which features close parallels to
the Christian hagiography of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, especially in the form in which this account is treated in two of
Jacob’s metrical homilies. Other homiletic material functions as
a valuable source of information concerning apocryphal Christian traditions on apostles that relate to material found in the
Qur’an and later commentators. A more systematic discernment
of Jacob’s biblical interpretation of Old and New Testament
themes and hagiographical traditions, both in and of themselves
and in relation to their reception in ancient religious traditions,
including early Islam, is a scholarly desideratum which this paper addresses.
21-133 Margaret P. Cowan, Maryville College
Engaging Diverse Students in a Required Biblical Studies Course
As one of their general education requirements, students at
Maryville College choose either Biblical Studies 130: Hebrew
Bible World and Culture or Biblical Studies 140: New Testament
World and Culture. These courses are designed as first-year
core courses, not introductions to the religion major. Teaching
Biblical Literature as a liberal arts core course taken primarily
by first-year students poses a number of challenges. One of the
most daunting is engaging students who enter college with wide
ranging levels of academic preparedness. Because the goals of
the course require students to learn to read analytically, examine the assumptions they bring to the text, consider alternative
readings of texts, and relate texts to their historical context, differences in intellectual development and critical thinking skills
are of particular concern. The course must challenge those who
are better prepared for these tasks, so that they remain engaged,
while supporting those who are not, so that they can successfully
improve their skills. This paper will discuss the strategies that
I have developed to address the challenge of enabling students
with different levels of academic preparedness to be engaged in
and attain the core educational goals of the Hebrew Bible World
and Culture course. Strategies are based on a review of literature
related to intellectual development, critical thinking, developmental education, and active learning and focus particularly on
meeting the needs of first-year students. The paper will explain
the theoretical underpinnings of particular strategies and invite
participants in the session to consider applications to their own
courses. While some of my materials have been developed over a
number of years of teaching introductory Hebrew Bible courses,
a sabbatical during the spring of 2009 has provided an opportunity to focus more intensely on revising the course to meet the
needs of students with differing levels of preparedness.
21-133 Colleen Conway, Seton Hall University
J, P, and Cinderella
Getting students interested and involved in their learning is a
central challenge to teaching undergraduates in a Liberal Arts
setting. In the Introduction to the Bible course, I use a number of in-class exercises designed to get the students working
together and interested in the academic study of the Bible. The
“Cinderella exercise” introduces the students to the idea of Pentateuchal sources and always produces a lively discussion early
in the semester. “Time-traveling prophets” requires the students
to understand the oracles of the 8th century prophets accurately
enough to have them speak directly to a particular situation in
our own time. Both exercises require group cooperation and active engagement with the biblical material.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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21-133 Janet S. Everhart, Simpson College
Sunday School Literature as a Teaching Tool
This paper reviews methods for using children’s Sunday school
literature (including games and coloring sheets) as a lens for
thinking about biblical interpretation. Exposing students to
Sunday school materials widely available on the internet and
through mainline Protestant publishing companies offers an
accessible introduction to the concepts of social location and
cultural influences on biblical interpretation. The paper will
focus on two or three well-known biblical texts and examine a
representative selection of materials designed for Protestant children. The presentation will include hand-outs to help illustrate
how these visual aids can be used to shape the conversation in
an undergraduate biblical studies classroom. I am still working
on the assessment piece as this is an experiment in the current
semester!
21-133 Alison Schofield, University of Denver
Cooperative Learning Strategies for Teaching Biblical Literature
in the Liberal Arts Context
Over the past half of a century, a number of studies have highlighted the effectiveness of cooperative versus competitive or
individualistic efforts. This data helps to affirm the efficacy of
cooperative learning in the classroom, strategies for which are
particularly useful when teaching biblical literature in the undergraduate, liberal arts context. In my experience teaching at
the University of Denver, specifically in my classes related to
Bible as literature, I have found useful ways of teaching both potentially new content (i.e. Bible literacy) as well as new methods
(i.e. basic methods of biblical criticism) through cooperative
learning groups, reaching learning outcomes that are normally
quite difficult for the non-major undergraduate in a ten-week
quarter. This paper, then, addresses specific teaching methods,
strategies, pitfalls, and assessment tools for incorporating cooperative learning in the Bible classroom.
21-134 Carolyn J. Sharp, Yale Divinity School
Sites of Conflict: Representations of Dislocation and Diaspora in
the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible offers complex and contestatory witnesses to
the trauma of displacement and its cultural effects. In the early
6th century, massive destruction, serial deportations, and the
Babylonian occupation of Jerusalem catalyzed a sustained cultural crisis in Judah. The crisis generated literary responses in
two dictions within ancient Israel’s sacred texts: political and
theological. This paper will consider languages of political and
theological dislocation as textual “sites of conflict” in which
ancient Israel’s understandings of power and identity are aggressively fractured and reformulated. First, I will use ideological
criticism to illumine the overcompensatory ways in which Jeremiah and Ezekiel construct diaspora identity as hyperbolically
dominant and shamefully emasculated, respectively. These two
prophetic books narrate the crisis using radically differing rhetorics, to be sure. But each of them violently reconfigures the
identity of the Judean people in an attempt to provide a culturally
credible response to the twin threats of political disempowerment and theological irrelevance. My paper will analyze these
culturally violent responses as expressions of subaltern reactivity, as that has been theorized in postcolonial criticism. Second,
I will use the Book of Lamentations to frame critical reflection
on ways in which the language of lament may invite responses to
dislocation that avoid enacting overcompensatory dynamics of
(continued) violence.
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21-134 Nghana Lewis, Tulane University
“There Was No Place for Cholly’s Eyes to Go”: (Re)Centering the
Black Male Perspective in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
This essay explores new ways of thinking about themes of isolation, abandonment, and exile in Toni Morrison’s classic 1970
novel The Bluest Eye by focally shifting from the female to the
male point of view in the novel. This focal shift enables the characterization of Cholly Breedlove, the novel’s male lead, who
conventionally comes under attack for physically abusing his
wife Pauline and sexually abusing his daughter Pecola, to resonate beyond the discursive frameworks of domestic violence
and incest to speak to one of the foremost crises confronting
black communities today: black-on-black crime. Black-onblack crime is the term popularly used to describe phenomena
wherein both the perpetrators and the victims of criminal acts
of violence are black. Implicit in the term is the notion that such
acts of violence are highly localized, occurring within communities that are racially homogenized and socioeconomically
destitute. That The Bluest Eye is concerned to address the interrelations among issues of isolation, identity formation, and
violence within the discreet context of the black community is
apparent, given the role the larger community plays in sealing
Pecola’s tragic fate. However this nexus has largely been unaccounted for in critical assessments of Cholly’s characterization.
When the scope of his story is mapped, at least three important
conclusions about Cholly can be drawn at the end of the novel
when readers know that he is dead, but don’t know how or why
he dies. Cholly was, as the narrator lyrically observes, “dangerously free. Free to feel whatever he felt—fear, guilt, shame, love,
grief, pity. Free to be tender or violent, to whistle or weep” (159).
He was also an adult whose emotional, cultural, and psychological developments had been traumatically stunted in childhood,
when his mother abandoned him, his aunt died, and his father
rejected him. As a consequence, Cholly, like his daughter Pecola,
lacked the resources needed to come of age by coming to terms
with the abandonment, isolation, and neglect to which he had
been subjected throughout his childhood. By mapping Cholly’s
history, the narrative offers insight into how issues of abandonment, isolation, and neglect are internalized and passed on from
one generation of Breedloves to another. It also offers insight into
how and why the issues of abandonment, isolation, and neglect
with which many black children struggle are violently transferred onto their communities. In this way, the novel provides
a means to unearth and critically assess some of the underlying
factors of black-on-black crime in a contemporary context.
21-134 Christoph Uehlinger, University of Zurich
Neo-Assyrian Iconographies of Forced Displacement and Exile
This paper will introduce to the main pictorial conventions
governing depictions of forced displacement and exile in NeoAssyrian so-called “narrative art.” In order to correctly evaluate
the documentary record, we must (a) ask which kind of information was liable to be represented on palace reliefs and related
monuments, (b) establish the relevant repertoire of type scenes,
and (c) inquire to what extent occasional deviations from the
constraints of genre allow us to recover more specific historical information related to forced displacement and exile. While
such questions must take into account all the available pictorial
evidence, this paper will look more closely to representations
that are particularly relevant for the history of the southern Levant, including Israel and Judah.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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21-134 Marian H. Feldman, University of California at
Berkeley
Deported Goods: The Representation of Booty in Neo-Assyrian
Art
Along with deported populations and prisoners of war, the
complex historical narratives that characterize Neo-Assyrian
art include images of the seizure and recording of foreign booty.
Acknowledging representation as a selective and constitutive
practice/act, this paper examines the ways in which booty was
depicted in Assyrian visual culture. It considers which features
were considered necessary to be visually signaled as “other” or
non-Assyrian and when, in contrast, distinctions between Assyrian and non-Assyrian were blurred. In conjunction with this
analysis, the paper also explores the continuum of categories of
“seized items” from people to gods, livestock and raw materials,
to finely crafted luxury goods, arguing that the different categories both shared features in common (eg. terminology and the
concept of war spoils) and differed in their roles within Assyrian
imperialism (whether logistical, economic, or ideological).
21-201 Geth Allison, Vance-Granville Community College
Teaching Outside of Your Field: Challenges and Rewards
This paper gathers insights from my experience teaching for a
local community college, offering classes within a Federal Correctional Complex. My teaching expertise is within the field of
biblical studies, yet, as Instructor of Religion and Humanities,
my teaching responsibilities include a World Religions course,
which is outside of my field of primary study. I argue that, despite the obvious challenges, there are tremendous rewards in
teaching outside of one’s area of expertise. First, I promote the
value and benefit of “non-experts” teaching outside of their field
and encourage an interdisciplinary approach. I then propose
several pedagogical tips for teaching outside of one’s field effectively and for taking advantage of the opportunities that it
affords both teacher and student. Teaching outside of one’s field
need not be a task to dread, but can indeed be embraced as an
enjoyable challenge with great educational reward.
21-201 J. Todd Hibbard, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
What Can a Hebrew Bible Scholar Tell a Class about Nietzsche?
In this paper, I offer insights into how I have developed and
taught a successful year-long (two semesters) Western Humanities course at medium-sized state university. My academic
training is in Hebrew Bible/Early Judaism, which contributes
only marginally in preparing me to teach a Western Humanities
course that theoretically takes a historical approach to major developments in religion, philosophy, politics, science, literature,
art, and music from ca. 3000 BCE to the present day. Obviously,
it is impossible to cover these subjects comprehensively in one
two-course sequence. The short study I offer to this section explains how I have approached this course (including changes I
have made to it) and how I have prepared to lead discussions in
areas that are not my academic specialty. I also focus on learning
activities that students have found especially valuable. To illustrate how these things come together in a classroom setting, I
explain how we studied Nietzsche in the only class session devoted to him(!).
21-201 William Sanger Campbell, College of St. Scholastica
What’s a Nice Biblical Scholar Like You Doing Teaching a Course
Like This? Or How I Learned to Love Teaching Outside Biblical
Studies
When Bible colleagues discovered that I would be required to
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teach a course on Catholicism in my new faculty position at a
small Catholic college, they were both amused and bemused:
bemused because I had no academic background in the subject; amused because I had been outspoken in my criticism of
the Catholic church’s views on a number of issues. I had no idea
how to design—much less teach—such a course. In the process
of developing it, however, I discovered six strategies that made
teaching outside my discipline doable and, dare I say it, enjoyable: (1) stay in your zone; (2) take your time; (3) plagiarize, aka
virtual brainstorming; (4) cram; (5) share the fun; (6) practice.
21-201 Suzanne Watts Henderson, Queens University
Transgressing Borders: Insights from the Interdisciplinary Classroom
This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of teaching “Noble Lives,” an interdisciplinary course that is required
for first-year students at Queens University. First, a summary of
course structure and content exposes the collaborative nature of
the team that both benefits and benefits from course design and
implementation, even while the classroom experience remains
within the pedagogical domain of the instructor. Second, reflections on teaching content outside one’s own expertise reveal that
transgressing one’s own disciplinary borders to be both risky
and transformative. In this respect, teaching an interdisciplinary course ultimately models for students the kind of vulnerable
critical inquiry that lies at the heart of the liberal arts.
21-202 James Riley Strange, Samford University
Digging Up Metaphors: A Proposal for the Archaeology of Religion
In this paper I investigate the origin of the Christian basilica in
the fourth century CE. I do this as a preliminary step toward
answering this question: Is it possible to outline a method for
moving from material culture to propositions about religion?
Clearly, the practice of religion leaves an imprint in artifacts and
architecture. What we want to know is whether, at a very basic
level, archaeologists can identify this imprint as a result of religious activity and not (or in addition to) some other kind of
activity. If so, can they also infer the practices that left the imprint and thence say something about beliefs and values? How
much can we say about religions based on what we find in the
dirt?
21-203 Roland Boer, University of Newcastle-Australia
Bloodthirsty Little Brats, or, the Child’s Desire for Biblical Violence
The question for this paper is why children seem to prefer the
more bloodthirsty stories in the Bible over against the gentle
ones. Whenever they encounter stories such as the beheading
of John the Baptist or Absalom getting his hair caught in a tree,
they want to hear it again and again and again. Using these two
stories as pivots for the paper, I ask why such stories attract children and why the moralising tales of goodness and obedience
do not. In seeking an answer I explore the way such stories are
represented in both image and text in children’s Bibles, the historical construction of an “innocent childhood,” especially in
the 19th century, the psychoanalytic theory that a child is a little
barbarian who is brought into society through extensive conditioning, and the way certain biblical stories cross over into the
realm of fairytale. The paper draws upon a mixture of lengthy
personal experience in teaching children, observing (in good
Freudian fashion) my own children, historical, literary and psychoanalytic research.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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21-203 Mark Roncace, Wingate University
Eve and the Other Creation Story
This paper will consider the portrayal of Eve in a variety of recent children’s Bibles. In addition to studying her narrative and
artistic presentations, the paper will consider how children’s
Bibles harmonize the two creation stories found in Genesis 1–3.
This harmonization not only has interesting effects on the depiction of Eve/woman, but it also compromises the idea of valuing
the “other”—namely, the “other” version of the creation story.
Here I will employ Bakhtin’s ideas of polyphony and dialogism
to critique the synthesis of the two stories.
21-203 Emma England, University of Amsterdam
“The Water’s Round My Shoulders, and I’m—GLUG! GLUG!
GLUG!”: The Drowned and Drowning in the Flood Story Retold
for Children
Whatever gloss is given to the Genesis Flood narrative (6:1–
9:19) there is no escaping the fact that God annihilates human
and animal kind. Despite this, the narrative is one of the most
popular Bible stories retold for children. How these retellings
present the death and destruction inherent to the narrative provides a fascinating insight into how ‘the other’ is presented in
such retellings. By focusing on the visual and verbal depictions
of the drowning and drowned I will refocalise the Genesis story
through their eyes. They are presented with sympathy, pity and
humour. They are men, women and newborn babes. They are
criminals and innocent victims. Interpreting the relationship
between word and image I will uncover the implied ideologies
of the retellings while considering how this affects the interpretation of the story in the books themselves and as a commentary
on the Genesis Flood story.
21-203 Archie Chi-Chung Lee, The Chinese University of
Hong Kong
The Taiping “Three Character Classic” and Biblical Interpretation
of God’s Chinese Son
“Three character classic” is a genre of children school textbook
in China that aims at teaching the young generation the basics
in reading, writing and primary ethical education. It has a long
history in Chinese society at least since the 13th Century. The
foreign missionaries discovered it when they arrived in China.
They imitated its form and transformed its content with religious
message of the Bible. This paper intends to study the portrayal
of the enemies and the devil in the three-character classic of the
Taiping Tianguo (Kingdom of Great Peace, 1851–64), a Christian peasant movement that conquered almost half of China and
set up its capital at Nanjing (renamed Heavenly Capital). The
Taiping Three Character Classic differs from those of the Protestant missionaries in its relating the stories of Exodus, Jesus, and
Hong Xiuchuan, the Taiping Heavenly King who claims to be
God’s second son. It exhibits a unique socio-religious interpretation of the Bible in the Taiping and Confucian contexts.
21-203 Valarie Ziegler, DePauw University
Mr. and Mrs. God in the Creation Kitchen: Gender Roles in Genesis 1–3 in Children’s Bibles
Interpreters of Genesis 1–3 disagree sharply about the text’s depiction of gender roles. Many interpreters find in the creation
stories a clear subordination of women to men; others find,
instead, egalitarian gender roles. What happens when authors
retell Genesis 1–3 to children? In my paper, I will consider a
broad range of children’s Bibles, ranging from accounts of Genesis that omit the creation of woman altogether, to versions that
depict Adam and Eve lounging in an Eden populated by frisky
dinosaurs, to still others that recast the creator as a husband/wife
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team experimenting in their creation kitchen. Other disputed
points of note include debates over who is created first, who is to
blame (and why) for the expulsion from the Garden, and whether to upset children by mentioning that expulsion. Offering
examples both from the text and from the illustrations that are
integral to this literature, I will demonstrate that these childrens’s
tales are packed with theological baggage and will consider their
implications for children’s understanding of gender.
21-203 Danna Nolan Fewell, Drew University
No Greater Love: Jonathan and His Friendship with David in
Children’s Literature
Despite the construction of Jonathan as an active and individualized character in 1 Samuel, subsequent commentary, artwork,
and retellings have relegated Jonathan to a supporting role whose
main functions are to amplify the conflict between Saul and David and to provide the friendly foil against which David rises to
success. Children’s literature also often assigns Jonathan a secondary part, and turns him into the model friend of the more
important David. In this piece we compare the biblical portrayal
of Jonathan with those included in the illustrations and texts of
children’s Bibles and religious education curricula to explore the
ways in which Jonathan is “othered” in efforts to translate a complicated story into a digestible, but perhaps dangerous “lesson”
for children.
21-204 Ann Jeffers, Heythrop College
Seeing is Believing: Woodcut Representations of Women in the
Book of Genesis in Luther’ Bible of 1534
The Protestant Reformation has had an ambiguous relationship
with the Fine Arts. However, Luther thought that biblcal art
could play an important pedagogical role. Luther’s Bible of 1534
(the first ‘complete’ Bible produced under Luther’s auspices) is
richly illustrated with 117 woodcuts. By focusing on the woodcuts selected for the Book of Genesis, this paper will examine the
hermeneutical relationships between the Biblical text,the Ennarationes in Genesis, Luther’s commentary on Genesis and the
visual representations of women from Genesis. It will argue that
the selection of woodcuts is imbued with doctrinal overtones
and that the representation of biblical women reflects 16th century debates on the position of women.
21-204 Stephen Knapp, Forest Park, IL
The Strength of a Woman: Comparative Readings of Esther in the
Art of Flemish Baroque Masters and a Postmodern Artist
Two artistic traditions are compared for the way in which they
have translated the story of Esther into visual imagery, and the
implications this had for their respective statements about the
role of women in society. The art of selected 17th century Dutch
Masters interpreting scenes from the book of Esther is compared
with a series of mosaics by postmodern, feminist artist Lillian
Broca. Of particular interest is the contrast between “circumspective” and “introspective” readings of the central character,
which move the figure from national heroine to role model in
these respective interpretations.
21-204 Ela Nutu, University of Sheffield
On Playing Games: Samson, Delilah, Eros, Thanatos, and Rubens
If not popular, Delilah as the femme fatale who leads to Samson’s
demise is a well-known character. She is the hated woman who
subjugates Samson by getting him a very costly haircut, for, entangled in his flowing locks, his phallic credentials also get the
chop. While most artistic depictions present Delilah as the one
cutting Samson’s hair, Rubens is faithful to the biblical text by
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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inserting a barber in his interpretation of the story. Yet, he too
presents the viewer with a guilty Delilah. She emerges from the
canvas as the wicked seductress who ruins a biblical hero. By
focusing more closely on Samson’s role in his own destruction,
this paper proposes a different reading of the encounter between
Samson and Delilah. Informed by psychoanalytical theory, it argues that toying with death is Samson’s favourite game in the
narrative and that Delilah is a pawn in Samson’s hands and not
vice-versa.
21-204 R. Christopher Heard, Pepperdine University
Drowning in Paint: The Deluge in Western Art
Many painters have put brush to canvas to depict the deluge
of Genesis 6–9. A notable subset of these artists have chosen
to focus viewers’ attention on a set of actors almost completely ignored by the actual biblical narrative: the humans outside
of Noah’s family who perished in the flood. The particulars of
various paintings and the dissonance between the laconic biblical narrative and the artistic tradition’s graphic paintings of
drowning victims provides an intriguing example of visual representation as an act of lament, or even resistance.
21-204 David Tabb Stewart, California State University,
Long Beach
Eye on Leviticus: Reception in the Visual Arts
That Leviticus has a history of artistic reception surprises some.
It does—in woodcut, engraving, painting, mixed media, diorama, and video; from Bible illustration to abstract expressionism;
from rasquache to “fine” art. As hermeneutical vehicles for the
“ordinary” person these primarily take five angles of vision: didactic illustrations of flora, fauna, and furniture (e.g., Levine);
series that cover the main narrative line of the book (Hoet and
de Blois, Mendes); snapshots of its several violent moments (Bartolozzi, Blake, Collaert, Master, Tissot, Weigel); queer critiques
of the violence implicit in its sexual laws (NdegeOcello, Patro);
or evocations of its blank threat (Kasten). The gravitational pull
of the book’s narrative line appears to focus most of its visual
hermeneuts on the face of violence.
21-205 Christo H.J. van der Merwe, University of Stellenbosch
Explaining Word Order in the Book of Joel
It is widely acknowledged that poetic texts typically have more
instances of non-canonical word order (also referred to as
“fronting”) than narrative texts. Lunn has postulated that the
overwhelming majority of instances of non-canonical word
order in poetic texts can also be accounted for in terms of the
same semantic-pragmatic considerations that are used for narrative texts (Lunn 2006). The aim of our study is to test this
hypothesis of Lunn. In a corpus of 1200 verbal clauses in the
Pss. 1–12, 96–99, 142–143, Isa. 61–66, Prov. 5–7 and Job 3–10,
Lunn identifies 422 (i.e. 34%) instances of non-canonical word
order. Of this 34%, 8.4% cannot be explained by Lunn in terms
of his semantic-pragmatic model, and a higher level “poetic”
function must be posited. Lunn’s semantic-pragmatic model is
primarily inspired by the insights of Lambrecht (1994). These
views of Lambrecht have in recent times been used by many
BH scholars (e.g. Heimerdinger, Van der Merwe, Floor, Van
Hecke, Moshavi, Hays) to explain fronting in Biblical Hebrew.
Some important aspects of Lunn’s model can be called into question. In addition, his particular interpretation of non-canonical
word order in Hebrew poetry needs further scrutiny. For these
purposes, we investigated all instances of non-canonical word
order in the book of Joel. The explanations of each case were,
on the one hand, informed by Van der Merwe’s most recent version of Lambrecht (slightly modified by more recent works of
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Lambrecht and Erteschik-Shir) and, the other hand, a recent literary-structural analysis of Joel by Wendland. The findings of
this pragmatic-poetic study are illustrated by means of salient
examples from Joel.
21-205 Randall Buth, Biblical Language Center, Israel
Multiple Frontings in Poetry
Poetry provides a different communicative framework for the
syntactic and pragmatic structures of the language that may
explain the different frequencies from prose. Similar pragmatic
functions can be seen within parallelistic units, though there are
significant differences from prose. Of special interest are multiple frontings, two or more clause-level constituents before a
verb. The same pragmatic functions of contextualization (topicalization) and focus are at work, with an occasional surprise.
21-205 E. Talstra, VU University Amsterdam
Word Order, Clausal Hierarchy and Syntactic Function
A main challenge in the study of classical Hebrew prophecy and
poetry is the question of how much language phenomena in the
texts can be explained in terms of linguistic system of classical
Hebrew syntax in general and how much of the clause and text
level phenomena better can be explained in terms of the unique
composition of a specific text. Computer assisted research has
contributed substantially to the analysis and the study of linguistic data in the area of morphology, lexicon and clause level
parsing. Now the question is: how far can one get in trying to
find language system at textual level: what is language system,
what is literary design? I want to present and discuss experiments and proposals in the field of text syntactic studies and
computer assisted research.
21-205 Tania Notarius, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Word Order in Verbal Clauses in the Archaic and Classical Biblical Poetry
The paper deals with the problems of word order in verbal clauses in biblical poetry (the poetic fragments from Pentateuch and
Former Prophets, and the books of Amos, Hosea and First Isaiah). Scholars have noticed that many word order constraints
that are at work in prosaic language are violated in poetry. The
paper suggests a statistical analysis of the word order patterns
and their typological interpretation. It will be shown that parts
of the poetic corpus do not reveal essential deviations from the
word order in prosaic language, and some minor deviations are
due to poetic terseness and flexibility. However, some poetic
sections demonstrate significant and typologically notable variations, which may signal different local dialects, or alternatively,
literary conventions.
21-205 Pierre J. P. van Hecke, Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven
Word Order in Clauses with Haya
In Classical Hebrew, as in many other languages, the copular
verb hyh can also have the function of an independent verb of
existence. In the present paper, the question will be dealt with
whether the two uses of the verb display a different word order preference. In earlier publications (STDJ 73 and BETL 224),
I have demonstrated that a similar variation in word order is
observable in clauses with existential predicators #$y and Ny).
More recently (12th Orion International Symposium, 2008), I
have shown that in Qumran Hebrew, the two uses of the verb
hyh indeed have a different word order preference. This phenomenon will be further analysed within Classical Hebrew, and
explanations for the variation will be presented based on current
research on word order variation.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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21-205 Rosalind Clarke, Highland Theological College
“Come My Love, I will Give You my Love”: An Analysis of the
Poetic Structure of Song 7:11–13 [12–14]
Song 7:11–13 [12–14] is a short but complex poetic unit which
has so far failed to achieve any consensus with regard to its internal structure. This paper follows the procedure for discourse
analysis of poetic texts proposed by Ernest Wendland and employs the broad definition of parallelism suggested by Adele
Berlin to expose the underlying structure of the poem. The analysis highlights the overlapping patterns which occur even within
such a short unit, reinforcing or contrasting with each other to
form a complicated dance of meaning. Close examination of the
various morphological, phonological, lexical, semantic and syntactical elements indicates a structure of alternating monocola
and tricola. The monocola are of varied length while each tricolon consists of three cola with precisely two accented syllables.
The first, third and fourth monocola of the poem are strongly
linked on both semantic and phonological grounds and the convergence of a number of features suggests that these should be
taken as the dominant structuring elements. The final clause of
v. 13[12] thus functions as a pivot in the poem, pointing back to
the opening clause and forward to the final clause. This pattern
matches the thematic development of the poem, in which the
initial invitation to the country is confirmed as an invitation to
sexual pleasures and followed up by a promise of sexual fulfilment. The paper not only illuminates this small poetic unit in
the Song but also illustrates the value of this comprehensive approach to poetic analysis. This integrative approach recognises
that both form and meaning contribute to the structure and effect of the poem. By consideration of the various conjunctive
and disjunctive elements within the unit and at its boundaries,
it also highlights possibilities for the relationship between the
poetic units which comprise the Song.
21-210 Christian Askeland, University of Cambridge
Was there a Coptic Translation of John’s Gospel Without Chapter
21?
The narrative discourse of John’s gospel has compelled many,
if not most, modern Johannine scholars to assert that chapter
21 was a later addition. Until recently, there was no published
evidence for a text of John’s gospel lacking this final chapter. At
least two scholars have argued that a Sahidic manuscript in the
holdings of the Bodleian library offers such evidence (Bodleian
MS. Copt.e.150(P)). This paper will examine the testimony of
this fragment, and will attempt to estimate its value in the discussion of the history of the biblical text. The presentation will
also explore the paleographic and codicological aspects of the
manuscript and its relevance to the study of the fourth gospel.
21-210 Andrew Dinan, Ave Maria University
Biblical Citation in Clement of Alexandria’s Protrepticus
This paper attempts to illuminate Clement of Alexandria’s
scriptural exegesis by means of a comparison of passages in the
Protrepticus and in the works of Philo of Alexandria that refer
to the same biblical verses. Philo’s influence on the Stromateis
is well known. What has received less attention, however, is his
influence on Clement’s earlier works. Yet the Protrepticus contains several passages in which Philo’s influence can clearly be
detected and others in which there is possible influence. This
paper examines specifically those passages that contain biblical
citations, and it assesses Clement’s appropriation of Philonic exegesis.
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21-210 Michael Vlad Niculescu, Bradley University
Changing Moods: Origen’s Biblical Pedagogy as a Transformative
Attunement to the Grief and the Joy of a Messianic Teacher
The paper places Origen’s project of a biblical school curriculum
in the light of Origen’s understanding of biblical exegesis as the
receptive attendance (μελέτη) to the messianic advent (ἐπιδημία)
of a Bible-incarnate Logos. I maintain that, like the Bible, which
is a textual incarnation (an in-textuation) of the Logos in the
exegetically received and homiletically furthered biblical words,
the Origenian school curriculum is a doctrinal incarnation
(an “in-culturation”) of the Logos in the observantly attended
biblical teaching. The disciple who welcomes the messianically
inculturated Teacher becomes gradually attuned to the twofold,
humble and exalted, manner in which this Teacher performs his
soteriological pedagogy. Consequently, the analysis of Origen’s
curriculum will be pursued in two ways. On the one hand, I
shall analyze the emergence of the curriculum from the twofold,
humble and exalted, coming of the Logos to the disciple, while,
on the other hand, I shall look at the curriculum as an expression of the disciple’s transformation in the image of the Logos
through the gradual reception of Logos’s pedagogic advent. In
this context I shall discus Origen’s description of the disciple’s
experience of being-attuned to the messianic Teacher who is the
Logos as the working out of two spiritual moods, namely that of
grief and joy. I shall point out the mournful mood of the ethical
and physical reception of the kenotic Teacher in fear and awe
along with the more joyous mood of the epoptic reception of
the exalted Teacher in love. Jesus’ interpretation of the Scripture on the road to Emmaus will be also discussed as the most
accomplished expression of biblical exegetic pedagogy. On this
occasion I shall point out a possible totalizing (supersessionistassimilationist) reading of the Emmaus scene and some aspects
of Origen’s exegesis of this scene that could have effectively prevented such a reading.
21-211 Kari Latvus, Diaconia University of Applied Sciences
Hagar in Finland?
The story of Hagar in Gen 16 and 21:8–21 illustrates both classical exegetical and recent contextual questions. Several contextual
readings (Trible, Williams etc) underscore the value of rereading of the story. The paper reminds shortly also about the major
exegetical results and trends represented by von Rad, Noth, van
Seters and Levin. Thus the earliest layer in Gen. 16* belongs to
J (pre-exilic/exilic) and the latter parts of Gen. 21 are post-exilic midrash. Secondly the paper introduces the method which
is named in the paper “inter-contextual analysis.” This analysis
offers a methodological tool to connect the past text with the
present reality. Special focus is given on poor women in Finland and on the workers among them. Inter-contextual analysis
aims to bring into dialogue the four contexts (social locations;
cf. David Rhoads) needed for reading the text: - questions of the
poor 1, views behind the biblical texts, - interpreter(s) 1, views of
the writer(s) of the biblical text - interpreter 2, author of present
study - poor 2, views of persons who are named poor today. Each
view opens a different and complementary angle to the story.
The method opens a dialogue between the ancient text and current poverty studies and illustrates more precisely the varying
roles of ancient and modern interpreters. The method illustrates
also how the poor female voice (Hagar) in the text needs an advocate to be fairly heard. Classical exegesis without contextual
dimension is in danger to be/stay one-sided and narrow, but also
contextual reading requires the support of exegetical work. The
inter-contextual method offers a tool needed in the process.
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21-211 Jione Havea, Charles Sturt University
Jacob Encounters Job on the Streets of Manila
This presentation will focus on two paintings by the Filipino
theologian and activist, Emmanuel Garibay: Jacob wrestling with
G*d (2008) and Job (2008). The juxtaposition of the artworks
raises critical questions about both biblical characters: How
could Job, a wealthy slave-owner, be blameless and righteous?
Why should Jacob, who cheated his brother, father and uncle,
and prevailed over G*d (whom Garibay portrays as a riot police), respect anyone? What are the consequences of identifying
with Job (especially in the works of liberation critics) and Jacob?
The inspiration for Garibay’s works is the struggles of people in
the corrupt and violent contexts of the Philippines, and I (conditioned by oceanic upbringing and crosscultural migration) will
read his works contra-textually with the biblical account. The
upshot is a call for reexamination of traditional perspectives and
readings, for solidarity with demonstrators and activists in the
struggles of oppressed people, and for the courage to confront
and question G*d. The presentation will cross several contexts,
from the bible to the streets of Manila and Gaza, and the rising
seas in Oceania, from literary to visual imagination, and telling, from the stories of Jacob and Job to the story of Jonah, and
more.
national and religious identities that is at the heart of Zionism.
My analysis here will reflect feedback I have been fortunate to
receive on my exegesis from sources as diverse as the participants of my own family Passover Seder, through the Religious
Education teachers and chaplains of Eton College, the Theology Department of Oxford University, and an audience at South
London Limmud, to a conference of 250 Anglican clergymen
and women at Southwark Cathedral.
21-211 Joseph Kelly, Harding University Graduate School
of Religion
Is YHWH Faithful to Israel: Joel and Jonah’s Use and Non-Use of
Exodus 34:6–7
The Exodus creed (34:6–7) captures the heart of Israel’s testimony of YHWH, who he is and what he does. Joel and Jonah
both make use of a particular form of this creed with significant
textual parallels to indicate that they are intertextually related.
The question of priority has received abundant support on either
side of the table, begging the question as to whether the final
form of the text requires the reader to choose one text as temporally or even conceptually prior. If the text invites the reader to
determine for himself the direction of textual dependency, this
invitation allows the reader to discover meaning in light of his
own particular encounter with the texts.
21-213 T. M. Lemos, Miami University
“A Sword Against Them…So They Become Women!”: Gender and
Mutilation in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East
This paper will explore the relationship between physical wholeness and constructions of masculinity, building upon previous
works that have addressed this topic (e.g. Lemos, “Shame and
Mutilation of Enemies in the Hebrew Bible; Chapman, The Gendered Language of Warfare in the Israelite-Assyrian Encounter;
among others). The paper will focus particularly on the nexus
between masculine display, braggartry, mutilation, and feminization in biblical and ancient Near Eastern texts and reliefs. It
will address various questions: could a mutilated and/or disabled
body ever be considered masculine in ancient Near Eastern
thinking? If mutilation served often as a mode of feminizing
victims, then was a female body by nature a blemished body? Finally, how did conceptions of masculinity and bodily wholeness
relate to everyday social status and authority in ancient Israel
and other ancient Near Eastern societies? Speaking in more specific fashion, considering the fact that eunuchs—who possessed
the feminized body par excellence—could inhabit positions of
authority in ancient Near Eastern empires, one must critically
examine the relationship between mutilation and social status
and question what practical effects mutilation had upon the lives
of individuals. In other words, what were the real consequences
of possessing a mutilated body in the ancient Near East, and
were Israelite texts in any way more discriminatory toward the
mutilated and/or disabled than those of other groups?
21-211 Diana Lipton, King’s College London
Longing for Egypt: Dissecting ‘The Heart Enticed’
In the title chapter of Longing for Egypt and Other Unexpected
Biblical Tales (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2008), I read the book of
Exodus as a text that promotes resistance to assimilation. The
threat to Israel was not primarily persecution and oppressive
slavery, I suggest, but the desire to become Egyptian with all
that entailed. What little persecution and oppressive slavery is
present (greatly magnified in post-biblical Jewish and Christian
tradition) is, I argue, a secondary threat: this is what happens
when you assimilate. I hinted in my published work at the implications of my reading for contemporary readers of Exodus. Now
I intend to reflect further on the aspects of my social, political
and religious context that made me re-read Exodus so radically.
I will focus on the intellectual challenges facing politically liberal, left-wing Jews who continue to value religious distinctiveness
in a post-race, post-colour society; the problematic use of persecution to reinforce religious identity (e.g., Holocaust education
in some—not all—of its manifestations); the moral and ethical implications of creating or enhancing a political enemy to
unite disparate groups; the difficulty of breaking rank with past
interpreters, especially when their interpretations were both
monolithic and promoted at the time the greater good (e.g., the
use of Exodus to inspire the physically, politically or spiritually
enslaved); and the currently unfashionable interaction between
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21-213 Frank Ritchel Ames, Rocky Vista University
Understanding War-related Amputation: The Portrayal of Adonibezek in Judges 1
Judges 1:1–7 reports the defeat of Adoni-bezek and the amputation of the Canaanite king’s thumbs and toes, a practice against
war captives that the king himself confesses before his transport
to Jerusalem and subsequent death. The report offers an early
but not isolated portrayal of war-related amputation and raises
questions related to the characterization of Adoni-bezek in the
narrative and about ancient societal motivations for injuring
but not ending a life. This paper applies literary and comparative methods, discusses biblical and extra-biblical examples, and
proposes tactical, penal, psychological, and religious motivations.
21-213 Song-Mi Suzie Park, Harvard University
Saul’s Spiritual Torment in 1 Samuel 16:14: Conflicts in the
Royal, National and Divine Psyche
In 1 Samuel 16:14, in the midst of the cycle of stories discussing
the power struggle between David and Saul—a struggle that by
2 Sam 3 becomes a full blown war—it states that God’s spirit
left Saul and that an evil spirit was sent to torment him. Clearly
the notice in the preceding verse (2 Sam 16:13) that God’s spirit
has abandoned Saul and settled upon David indicates a shift
in favor away from the Saulides to house of David. However,
the statement of Saul’s mental “illness,” which is usually glossed
over in discussions about Saul’s demise, when examined deeper,
generates many disquieting theological quandaries and issues
concerning the fairness and omniscience of God: Why was God
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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unable to foresee that kingship under Saul would fail? And why
is it necessary to further torment Saul by inflicting him with an
evil spirit? Not only does Saul appear to be punished here, but
his torment is relieved by David, his soon-to-be replacement
and enemy. The picture of God is theologically problematic and
the argument that this is pro-Davidic propaganda does little to
resolve these issues. I will argue in my paper that these theological quandaries reflect an inner-Israel theological struggle with
kingship and Israelite identity. The notice of Saul’s tormented
mind—his inner mental conflict—thus functions as a microcosm of the larger war within the country for political leadership
and, I will maintain, also of the theological conflict concerning
God and the creation of kingship in Israel.
21-213 Bryan D. Bibb, Furman University
Swift Warriors and Stumbling Victims in the Prophetic Rhetoric
of Violence
The ancient Israelite prophets draw from a wide range of metaphors in depicting the depravity, imminent danger, and coming
destruction of Israel and Judah. One stereotypical image used by
the prophets to elicit fear and remorse from their audience is the
contrast of swift, physically dominant warriors with the feeble,
stumbling victims of military conquest. For example, Isaiah describes the coming Assyrian invaders as alert and speedy, none
of them weak or stumbling (5:26–27), while their victims are
unable to flee because they stumble to the ground and are thus
snared and killed (8:15). This paper will explore the rhetorical
effects of the prophetic description of physical impairment as
an immediate cause of defeat and destruction. In some passages,
stumbling and falling is evidence of Israel’s moral deficiency,
such as Hosea’s description of the people “stumbling in their
guilt” (5:5). The inability of victims to flee from destruction can
also be caused by their fear response in the face of fierce warriors (e.g., Nahum 2:10). Most strikingly, however, the prophets
depict God as directly impairing victims so that they will not
be able to escape the wrath that is coming their way (e.g., Isaiah
28:13; Jeremiah 6:21). Similar to their metaphorical use of other
disabilities such as blindness and deafness, the prophets associate mobility impairment with the weak and sinful qualities of
the Israelites, while strength, speed, and “lightness of foot” are
the possession of the righteous and of victorious conquerors.
21-214 Elizabeth Morton, McGill University
The Role of Ecstasy in the Formation of Abraham, the Sage
Philo devotes considerable attention to the biblical patriarch,
Abraham, who appears in 19 of his treatises; however, nature
and function of the figure of Abraham has not been the focus of
scholarly attention in any significant way since the 1956 publication of Samuel Sandmel’s monograph, Philo’s Place in Judaism:
A Study of the Conceptions of Abraham in Jewish Literature,
and that work largely limited its discussion to the portrait of
Abraham found in the biography, De Abrahamo. However, the
figure of Abraham plays a central role in the allegorical treatises
where Abraham represents the ordinary person who, not being
blessed by birth with a perfect nature (as, for example, were the
autodidaktoi, Moses and Isaac), must undergo a lengthy purification and training in order to overcome the passions and the
influence of empirical thought and come home to God. This purification and training is symbolically represented by Abraham’s
journey from Chaldea to Canaan, which Philo describes as the
migration of the soul from the material realm to the intellectual or spiritual realm of God. As the allegorical interpretation
of scripture stands at the heart of Philo’s thought, I believe a
detailed examination of Philo’s allegorical portrait of Abraham
and his migration will contribute important, new insights on
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many critical issues in our understanding of Philo. The role of
ecstasy in Philo’s thought is one such issue. In this short paper
I seek to demonstrate that the unexceptional person, in Philo’s
view, cannot arrive at wisdom except through instruction, and
the acquisition of instruction is portrayed in the migration of
Abraham. This migration is, in turn, described as a process of
self-abandonment, culminating in the abandonment of the subject’s own mind in ecstatic experience which so transforms that
mind that it takes on a quality akin to divinity.
21-214 Dragos-Andrei Giulea, Marquette University
The Noetic Turn in Jewish-Christian Mysticism: Revisiting Esoterism, Mysticism, and Internalization with Philo, Clement, and
Origen
While agreeing with Gedaliahu Stroumsa’s position according to
which internalization represented an important turn in religious
experience of antiquity, the present paper does not conceives of
this turn as the passage from esoterism to mysticism. As such
scholars as Segal, Gruenwald, Fossum speak about Paul’s “mystical experience” or about the “mystical religion” of the first
century, Elior and Alexander talk about “Qumran mysticism.” In
addition, Rudolph Otto used to assert both inward and outward
mysticisms. However, various passages in Philo, John, Melito,
Ps-Hippolytus, Clement, and Origen testify for a noetic turn in
Jewish-Christian mysticism. The noetic turn, which preceded
the process of internalization, transferred the entire biblical/
apocalyptic ontology—throne, glory, angels, etc.—from heaven
to the noetic, invisible world. With no doubt a shift under Hellenistic influence, its method of accessing this world was no longer
ascension, but initiation. Internalization, in its turn, should be
re-conceived of as a shift within the trend of mysticism, namely
one focused on the internal contemplation of God, though the
ontology remains within the invisible, noetic universe.
21-215 Paul K-K Cho, Harvard University
Isaiah’s Rebellion (Isaiah 8.16–18)
Isaiah 8.16–18 concludes Isaiah’s so-called Memoir, which begins
with the prophet’s call narrative in Isaiah 6 and concludes with
an account of his unsuccessful prophetic activities during the
Syro-Ephraimite crisis in chapters 7 and 8. The pairing of these
two sections, to be sure, is an odd one, until one recognizes in
God’s commissioning Isaiah to speak to a peoples whose mind,
ears, and eyes God will shut (6.10) and Isaiah’s failure to inspire
faith in Ahaz and Jerusalem court something of a prophecy-fulfillment pattern. The call narrative is the meta-prophecy that
sanctions both the prophet’s oracles and their (non)-effects. This
notice does not undermine the authenticity of the call narrative
nor that of the account of prophetic activity. Rather it underlines
the craftsmanship behind their literary juxtaposition and presentation. This paper, therefore, attempts to read Isaiah 8.16–18
and its individual parts as constitutive parts of the whole that is
the Memoir. It pays particular attention to the meaning of sealing and binding (8.16) and the holistic interpretation of Isaiah
and his children as signs and portents (8.18).
21-215 H. G. M. Williamson, University of Oxford
Isaiah—Prophet of Weal or Woe?
For well over a hundred years, critical study of the growth of
the book of Isaiah has taken as axiomatic that the eighth-century prophet certainly proclaimed judgment on his people at the
hand of the Assyrians, and opinions have been divided about
how much hope, deliverance or salvation he also foresaw. Some
have found good evidence for ascribing some of the prophecies
of weal to him, while others have argued that they were all added
at later stages in the process of the formation of the book. In
recent years a completely different scenario has been proposed
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by some, however. Following the accessible publication of examples of prophetic activity in Assyria from about the same time,
it is claimed that prophecy was always supportive of the royal
national agenda, and so we should assume that the same will
have been true in Judah. By somewhat radical literary-critical
surgery (e.g. maintaining that the original Isaiah Memoir ran
through Isaiah 6:1–8 and 8.1–4 only) it has proved possible to
suggest that certainly during the early part of his ministry (support for Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis) and perhaps
later on as well (during Sennacherib’s invasion) Isaiah fitted this
pattern and that all judgement sayings should be ascribed to the
work of later editors. This new theory, which is showing signs
of becoming popular in European scholarship, has significant
implications for our understanding of the early stages in the formation of the book. The paper will therefore describe the basis
on which it rests and why it is attractive before subjecting some
of its principal arguments to a critical examination in order to
test their validity.
21-215 Maire Byrne, Milltown Institute of Theology and
Philosophy, Dublin
The Influence of Egyptian Throne Names on Isaiah 9:5: A Reassessment of the Debate in Light of the Divine Designations in the
Book of Isaiah
The four designations in Isaiah 9:5, “Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (NRSV translation) have been variously referred to as divine designations,
titles assigned to an earthly Israelite king upon his accession to
the throne, the names given to a heir to the throne upon his
birth or titles assigned to a future Messiah. The use of the four
designations here is at variance to other Isaianic titles, names
or epithets, particularly those that refer to God, used throughout the Book of Isaiah and their inclusion in this verse has been
attributed to the influence of the accession rites of ancient Egyptian kings. The matter of why general consensus sees only four
names in the text, while the usual practice required five names
to be bestowed, has not been satisfactorily addressed in any detail. By examining the individual designations against the use
of other titles and epithets in the text as well as in the context
of several decades of scholarly debate on the matter, the influence on the verse of the ancient practice of allocating a newly
crowned Egyptian king five throne names may be more clearly
evaluated.
21-215 Willem A. M. Beuken, Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven
The King Diseased and Healed (Isaiah 38), the King Embarrassed
and Comforted (Isaiah 39): What Do these Figures Add to the
King Beleaguered and Rescued (Isaiah 36–37)?
While the literary-historical relationship of Isa 36–39 to 2 Kgs
18:13–20:21 remains at stake in a battle royal, present-day research of the book of Isaiah has come to the conclusion that
chs. 36–39 play a substantial role in the overall structure of this
prophetic book. This is more evident, however, for chs. 36–37
than for ch. 38 and ch. 39, for there is ample proof that the three
stories of the Isaianic composition offer somewhat divergent pictures of king Hezekiah. The picture offered in chs. 36–37 is most
suited for the closure of the first part of the book of Isaiah, the
picture offered in ch. 38 requires more of hermeneutics in order
to serve the same purpose, yet the picture offered in ch. 39 is
quite enigmatic, in light of both the preceding and the following
chapters. The paper focuses on the latter two chapters, starting
from the following construction question: do these chapters
owe their present place in the book mainly to the fact that they
belong to an earlier complex of stories about king Hezekiah or
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could the final redaction of the book have further considered
them to be appropriate in order to add specific traits to the image of the king who represents, anyhow, the counterpart of king
Ahaz (ch. 7)?
21-215 Richard Bautch, St. Edward’s University
The New Covenant: Tracing an Exegetical Pattern from DeuteroIsaiah
In its first part this paper considers how Deutero-Isaiah adopts
Jeremiah’s new covenant, especially the precursor’s notion of Torah written on the heart (Jer. 31:33). In Jeremiah, Torah written
on the heart renders teaching and learning unnecessary; Deutero-Isaiah, however, announces in a covenantal passage (Isa.
54:13) that “all your children will be taught by YHWH, and
great shall be their well being.” Deutero-Isaiah’s transformation
of the traditional, Torah-based covenant does not go as far as
that of Jeremiah, who implies that God changes humans’ nature
in placing the law on the heart immediately, i.e. without mediation. Deutero-Isaiah rather speaks of learners such that there is
still some process to one’s personal adoption of the law. Incorporation into the covenant requires one to learn, although these
prospects are likely with God as the teacher. Deutero-Isaiah’s
adjustment to the new covenant of Jeremiah, this paper goes
on to argue, signals the start of an exegetical pattern. The pattern is characterized by a newfound tutelage that aids humans
to comprehend and follow Torah as it delineates the covenantal
responsibilities that they retain. Evidence of this exegetical pattern is adduced in Jubilees, the sectarian documents among the
Dead Sea Scrolls, and select writings of Josephus.
21-216 Michael Barram, Saint Mary’s College of California
Reflections on the Practice of Missional Hermeneutics: ‘Streaming’ Philippians 1:20–30
Whereas previous work in these sessions has centered on a
variety of hermeneutical prolegomena related to reading texts
missionally, the upcoming session in November is dedicated to
missional interpretations of a specific text, namely, Paul’s letter
to the Philippians. In this paper I have chosen to explore and
reflect exegetically on Philippians 1:20–30, a text that regularly
appears in lectionaries across ecclesial traditions. The choice of
a lectionary passage is quite intentional; it will help me to explore the potential import of approaching texts from a missional
vantage point if I am challenged to use a passage that preachers
and teachers are often called upon to explore themselves. Using
a lectionary text may make it somewhat easier to highlight what,
if any, difference a “missional” reading makes for interpreters.
The paper seeks to reflect on each of the four streams identified
by Hunsberger in 2008 (http://gocn.org/resources/articles/proposals-missional-hermeneutic-mapping-conversation), in effect
testing them out to see how they might play out in practice. The
goal of the paper is not so much to argue for one stream over
against another. Rather, the paper seeks to touch on all four
streams in order to consider more closely the viability of this
overall notion that is being described as missional hermeneutics.
Given that this the first time that the papers in the session have
addressed a particular biblical text per se, the conclusions drawn
will necessarily be rather tentative and suggestive, and framed so
as to encourage further conversation and exploration.
21-216 James C. Miller, Asbury Theological Seminary
Mapping Philippians Missionally
This paper examines Paul’s letter to the Philippians in light of
George Hunsberger’s fourfold “mapping” of recent approaches
to missional hermeneutics (http://gocn.org/resources/articles/
proposals-missional-hermeneutic-mapping-conversation).
Hunsberger characterizes these approaches under the rubric of
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four questions: What is the story of the biblical narrative and
how does it implicate us? What is the purpose of the biblical
writings in the life of its hearers? How shall the church read the
Bible faithfully today? What guides our use of the received tradition in the context before us? Like Hunsberger, I do not see
these approaches as mutually exclusive. Rather, they represent
mutually informative queries into the interplay of divine purposes, ecclesiology and Scripture. How that interplay works out
and which questions will come to the fore (or recede) in the interpretive process will depend on the particular biblical writing
in focus as well as interpretive context of the interpreters. The
paper consists of three parts. First, I briefly summarize both my
understanding of the argument Philippians in its social-cultural
context as well as our ecclesial location in an increasingly postChristian West. Secondly, I investigate Philippians using Hunsberger’s four questions heuristically, comparing and contrasting
the fruitfulness of each as an interpretive approach for this particular letter. The results illustrate how the nature of Philippians
itself foregrounds certain missional emphases yet, at the same
time, provides fertile ground for all four approaches. The paper
concludes, finally, with brief reflections on socializing students
and the church into interpreting Scripture missionally.
21-216 Michael J. Gorman, Saint Mary’s Seminary and
University
The Apologetic and Missional Impulse of Philippians 2:6–11 in
the Context of the Letter
The rich poetic or hymnic text found in Phil 2:6–11 has been the
subject of many diverse investigations and interpretations. This
paper, taking a cue from John Reumann’s recent Yale Anchor
Bible commentary on Philippians, argues that the hymn/poem,
which is Paul’s master story, summarizes the gospel that Paul
wants the Philippian assembly to (continue to) proclaim and
(continue to) embody, in spite of opposition. In so doing, the
Philippians will both hold forth and defend the basic Pauline
claims about the crucified Jesus as the self-giving, life-giving Son
of God and sovereign Lord, in fulfillment of Scripture and in
contrast to Caesar. These claims have been vindicated by God
in exalting Jesus, and they will soon be acknowledged by all creation. Paul’s words speak to the contemporary church about the
coherent form and content of its missional life and message.
21-216 Rob Elkington, First Baptist Church, Whitby,
Canada
The Communal Mission of God and the Missional Community of
Philippians
COMMUNAL MISSION: God, in Tri-unity, forged a communal
mission to redeem fallen humanity. That communal mission,
enacted by the Father, incarnated in the Son and empowered
by the Holy Spirit had the supreme goal of reconciling rebellious and sinful people to God and then in turn to each other!
The mark of the Kingdom in a believer’s life is reconciliation to
God and reconciliation to other people. This was the communal
mission of God “As the Father has sent me;” Jesus left perfect
community to create a redeemed community and through that
community to call others into kingdom community, “so send
I you.” Community, is essential to effective mission—and that
leads us to Philippians and a Missional community.
MISSIONAL COMMUNITY: Philippians is a missional epistle
par-excellence! It is thus because of the paradox of promise and
problem in the community of Philippians! The kenosis of 2:7
highlights the path to true kingdom community in the willing
humility of a glorious Christ who laid aside glory to accomplish
the reconciliation of humanity to God and then to each other.
It is no accident that Paul highlights the communal mission he
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has with the Philippians (1:5) and the communal mission they
in turn have with God (1:6). In 1:27 Paul calls the community to
conduct themselves in a worthy manner because of the Gospel.
Paul then outlines that worthy conduct is community conduct
(1:27; 2:2–11, 14–16, 2:19–30) and that the Philippians need to
ensure that they do not allow the machinations of the flesh/ly to
undermine kingdom-like community (3:1–9).
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Church health in the form of
peacemaking is paramount to effective mission (4:2–3). Incarnational living imbibes reconciliatory living for healthy
community and mission.
21-219 Anne Thompson, University of Cambridge
Simpler for Lexicographer and Reader: The Making of Entries for
Verbs in Greek Lexica
Dictionary entries for Greek verbs are in particular very difficult to navigate, frequently appearing as blocks of dense print.
There are various types of information competing for prominence: the definitions and distinctions of meaning according to
aspect, voice or mood, the constructions with which the verb is
normally found, and the presentation of quotations of typical
contexts. This paper examines some of the problems for both the
writer of the dictionary article and the reader, and asks whether
there are methods and style of layout which could be adopted as
an improvement on traditional approaches.
21-219 Marie-Louise Craig, Charles Sturt University
Pioneers and No Through Roads: The Story of Early Hebrew-English Lexicons
Hebrew-English lexicographers were pioneers of Hebrew lexicography in the vernacular, producing the first Hebrew lexicons
in a European language other than Latin. Highly motivated and
equipped with a variety of resources these English scholars experimented with and produced a number of fascinating lexical
works. The early Hebrew-English lexicons fall into two distinct
groups: those written between 1593 and 1656, and those written
in the second half of the eighteenth century. Each group displays
a pioneering spirit but the work of each group is not continued
by the next generation of scholars. This paper briefly indentifies the motivations and resources of the early Hebrew-English
lexicographers, before exploring the lexicons produced between 1593 and 1800. The aims, language theories, sources, and
methods of presenting the entries are presented for each of the
lexicons with a special emphasis being given to visual samples
of the entries. The problems encountered by the lexicographers
and the possible reasons for the interruptions in the development of Hebrew-English lexicons are discussed and preliminary
conclusions drawn.
21-219 Marketta Liljeström, University of Helsinki
The Syrohexapla of 1 Samuel as a Translation
The Syrohexapla has to be studied in its own right before it can be
used properly for lexicographical, text-critical, and other interrelated purposes. An issue important to a proper assessment of
the Syrohexapla is its translational features. This paper discusses
some translational features of the Syrohexapla of 1 Samuel. The
syrohexaplaric material in 1 Samuel is very fragmentary and has
been preserved only in lectionaries and quotations. The only
lengthier passages are from the 2nd, the 7th and the 20th chapters. First, in the case of 1 Samuel, the lectionary passages are
compared with syrohexaplaric manuscripts in order to evaluate
how carefully the lectionaries repeat the original translation.
Second, to describe the method of translation, attention is paid
not only to the mechanical comparison with the Greek text but
also to an evaluation of the passages with the other Syriac ver-
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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sions available. For for 1 Samuel this means the Peshitta and the
version of Jacob of Edessa.
21-219 Terry C. Falla, Whitley College, University of Melbourne
Metaphor, Lexicography and Modern Linguistics: Should Figurative Speech Figure in Future Ancient-Language Lexica?
Since the publication in 1755 of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of
the English Language figurative speech has been an accepted category of meaning in numerous dictionaries of both ancient and
modern languages. Figurative speech, however, is no longer controversy free. In the field of ancient-language lexicography, The
Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (DCH) excludes it on the basis
that it is not in accord with “the commonly accepted principles
of modern linguistic theory.” The theory to which DCH refers is
apparently the highly influential cognitive linguistic theory on
metaphor espoused by Lakoff, Johnson, and Turner. If DCH is
right in its understanding of this theory then Syriac and other
ancient-language lexicography are faced with the question as
to whether they should likewise eschew figurative speech. This
paper surveys literature on cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, philosophical linguistics, psycholingui-stics, media ecology,
neurolinguistics, biological-evolutionary linguistics, and cognitive neurology in search of an answer. As a result, we learn that
“modern linguistics” does not represent any one position on the
issue. Non-cognitive-linguists present no obstacle to registering and analyzing figurative speech in a lexicon. For their part,
cognitive linguistics embrace a diversity of positions from the
uncompromising that disallows figurative speech to approaches
that actually utilize their discipline and even the Lakoff-Johnson-Turner theory to identify and lexicalize metaphor and other
forms of figurative speech.
21-220 Roy R. Jeal, Booth College
Intertextuality, Ideology, and Social Spaces in Colossians 1:15–20
The poetic declaration of Colossians 1:15–20 takes up a variety of intertextual ideas, concepts and modes of discourse, and
draws on social and cultural frameworks to argue a case and
present an ideology. This approach produces christological and
ecclesiological spaces where people can stand securely in their
faith, resistant to threatening cosmic-spiritual and human-political-spiritual forces that aim to shape their beliefs and behaviors
in religously and socially restrictive ways. This essay examines
the intertextual resources and how they are drawn together to
form a rhetoric meant to move audiences ideologically toward
deepened confidence in Christ Jesus, into whose kingdom space
they have been placed.
21-220 Rodrigo J. Morales, Marquette University
Israel’s Infancy and the Elements of the Cosmos: Reconfiguring
Hosea and Ezekiel in Galatians 4:1–11
The phrase “the elements of the cosmos” in Gal 4:3 has long
puzzled interpreters, but one thing that most agree on is that the
phrase refers to Jews and Gentiles alike in their existence prior
to Christ’s coming. On the majority reading, Paul describes the
condition of all people in thrall to these elements before the
sending of the Son. The focus of this paper is not so much the
identity of the elements as it is the question of who is subject
to them in Gal 4:3. I will argue for a minority reading that in
Gal 4:3 Paul is actually describing himself and his fellow Jews
rather than humanity as a whole. The clue to this identification
is his use of the word “infant” in Gal 4:1. The paper will argue
that Paul’s use of this image evokes several themes present in the
OT Prophets, particularly Hosea and Ezekiel, which describe
Israel’s infancy: when Israel was a child or infant, the nation was
subservient to idols; Israel fell into this idolatry despite its cov●
enantal relationship with the LORD; moreover, some of these
texts promise redemption for Israel resulting in a relationship
in which God “knows” Israel (see, e.g., Hos 11:12; cf. Gal 4:9).
Such a reading of Gal 4:3 as referring to Israel rather than to all
human beings follows a pattern that recurs in Galatians in which
the redemption of Israel from the curse in turn leads to the redemption of Jew and Gentile alike in Christ and makes better
sense of the broader context of the verse.
21-220 Max J. Lee, North Park Theological Seminary
Negotiating Desire: Epicurean, Diaspora Jewish, and Pauline
Traditions on Idol Food in 1 Corinthians 8–10
This paper analyzes the way Paul tries to negotiate a rigid Diaspora Jewish stance against eidolothuton (particularly found in 4
Maccabees and Philo) with Epicurean teachings (from Philodemus and Lucretius) on the permissibility of participating in idol
feasts. Even though Epicurus himself taught that the gods (if they
exist) would not participate in the feasting, they nevertheless
should be honored not out of fear of punishment nor in hopes
of receiving divine favors, but because of their imperturbability
(ataraxia). Paul, however, does not situate his concern over idol
food exclusively within religious discourse but also sees it as an
ethical concern. Epicurean teachings on the natural and unnecessary desires provide a point of contact with Paul’s admonitions
for the Corinthians to disengage with cultic feasting. The goal of
the study is to move beyond a strict comparison between Paul
and Diaspora Judaism, or between Paul and Hellenistic traditions, but to read the issue of idol food across multiple cultural
domains and see how Paul’s understanding of the law of Christ
(9:21) or imitatio Christi (11:1) informs his discourse on two
traditions that are in competition at Corinth concerning eidolothuton.
21-220 John Stafford, St. John’s College, University of
Manitoba
Beyond Midrash: Interpreting Paul’s Use of the Psalms
Paul’s way of using the Psalms is to carefully fold his exegesis
of them into the way he renders the Psalms in quotation but in
such manner that they remain congruent with their apparent
original intent. Rather than being indiscriminate or irresponsibly tendentious in the way he uses the Scriptures, he is actually
being highly respectful of the intent of the text if not its absolute
letter. This is in some marked contrast to the midrashic methods
of the rabbis.
21-221 Rebecca Raphael, Texas State University-San Marcos
The City of My Ancestors’ Graves
The destruction of New Orleans in 2005 was an event of biblical
scale: the thorough destruction of a city and the dispersion of its
people. This presentation reflects on one poet/biblical scholar/
New Orleanian’s response to it. Selected poems from the presenter’s manuscript Island Below Sea Level will be presented as a
poetry reading. The reading will be followed by an essay reflecting on how the poems engage various biblical genres, especially
lament and prophecy. In particular, the essay will explore how
biblical language seemed the only language powerful enough for
the event, while also being a source for “texts of terror” in some
of the public discourse about New Orleans. The essay will conclude with some remarks on how personal experience of such an
event both informs and constrains the author’s work as a biblical
scholar, including a discussion of why poetry has a capacity for
deep lament but scholarship does not.
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21-222 Judith Anne Jones, Wartburg College
Let the House of Aaron Speak: 1 Peter 2:4–10 and the Spiritual
House
1 Peter’s declaration that “you also, as living stones, a spiritual
house, are being built to be a holy company of priests to offer
spiritual sacrifices” (2:5) has often been called a mixed metaphor. Commentators who take this position contend that 1
Peter describes Christians both as the location of sacrifice and
as those who offer sacrifice, both as temple and as priests; Christians make up the building, and they live and work within it.
I shall argue that interpreters who dismiss these metaphors as
mixed and describe the passage as confused have misconstrued
the metaphors and have missed the consistency and coherence
within their multivalent complexity. Just as the apostle Peter
might be described as son of Jonas, son of Abraham, son of
Adam, and son of God without contradiction or inconsistency,
so 1 Peter 2:4–10 envisions the Christian community as simultaneously the house of Aaron, the house of Israel, and the house
of God. Without being inconsistent the author can speak of the
spiritual house built of living stones/sons both as temple and as
priests because the priests do not inhabit the temple; they comprise it. This is a temple whose very stones cry out in praise (1
Pet 2:9; cf. Luke 19:38–39). In my paper I shall describe how
the author draws on imagery from Psalm 118 and other biblical
texts to create a nested set of house metaphors that interact with
and interpret each other. The spiritual house metaphor unites
the house of Aaron, the house of Israel, and the house of God as
one building, one family, divinely established for the purpose of
proclaiming God’s goodness and mercy.
21-222 Chad Pierce, Central College
Deliverance from Demons: Baptism as Exorcism in 1 Peter
3:20–21
Advice on the warding off or exorcism of evil spirits can be
found throughout early Jewish and Christian literature. Options
to dissuade evil include: the recitation of apotropaic prayers (e.g.
4Q510–511); return to Torah (e.g. the Damascus Document);
the use of incantations (e.g. 4Q444 and 11Q11); and fumigation
(Tobit). This paper proposes that the author of 1 Peter 3:21–22
understands baptism as an indirect means of warding off evil
spirits and fallen angels. The linking of Christian baptism with
the flood tradition, as well as the myths concerning the fallen
angels, giants, and evil spirits that often accompany it in early
Jewish and Christian literature, suggests that the petrine author
viewed the deluge as a saving agent in addition to a destructive one. Thus, it seems that the “salvation” offered in Christian
baptism includes a deliverance from cosmic evil in addition
to a change in status before God. As opposed to mere magic,
baptism in 1 Peter provides the believer with a mystical union
with the resurrected Christ who has been given authority over
evil in all of its forms including angelic, spiritual, and human. It
is the power of Christ, not the baptism itself, which ultimately
saves Christians from evil. However, the access to that power
is granted through baptism. The notion of associating baptism
with exorcism and the warding off of evil spirits/Satan can be
found in some of the earliest Christian liturgies on baptism such
as those recorded by St. John Chrysostom. Thus, it appears that
1 Peter understands baptism to be a mystical rite signifying a
union with Christ that results in a salvation from cosmic agents
of evil.
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21-222 Kelly Liebengood, University of St. Andrews-Scotland
‘Don’t Be Like Your Fathers’: Towards a Reassessment of the
Ethnic Identity of 1 Peter’s ‘Elect Sojourners’.
Although 1 Peter initially appears to be addressed to Jewish
Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor (1.1), several references in the letter seem to nullify this initial impression: the
audience is said to have been redeemed from the futile way of
life handed down to them from their fathers (1.18); they are
urged, as a result of their redemption, to put their faith and hope
in God (1.21); and finally, they are seen to have once participated in ‘licentious living, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing,
and lawless idolatry’(4.2–3). Most scholars agree that these references are decisive in concluding that 1 Peter was written to a
predominantly Gentile audience. For at least two generations 1
Peter scholarship has operated on this assumption, which not
only has had a profound impact on the way the letter has been
interpreted, but also has set the agenda for subsequent research
in 1 Peter. In this paper I will focus particularly on the common
assertion that 1 Pet 1.18, 21 and 4.2–3 ‘could hardly have been
addressed to any but Gentiles’ (Selwyn). A fresh examination
of a long-standing tradition within Judaism will demonstrate
that it was not out of step for Jews to characterize their fathers
and their compeers as idolatrous, unbelieving, and ignorant of
YHWH’s purposes. With this in mind, the rhetoric of 1 Pet 1.18,
21, and 4.2–3 could be yet another indication that our author,
in keeping with other ‘Jewish’ features in the letter, is addressing
fellow-Israelites.
21-222 Aaron Kuecker, Trinity Christian College
Being Built into a Spiritual House: The Subversion of Normative
Social Identity Processes in 1 Peter
Approaches to the social identity of the community of address in
1 Peter have, to date, proved inconclusive with regard to the manner in which the community’s identity is rendered in relation to
outsiders. This paper seeks to clarify the ongoing discussion by
applying social identity theory to 1 Peter in order to discern the
identity-forming processes evident in the textual data. I argue
that, from an etic perspective, 1 Peter describes what is best classified as a subversion of typical social identity processes. This is
particularly true with regard to the function of out-groups in
the maintenance of positive social identity. Rather than promoting group identity formation through the negative evaluation of
the ‘other,’ social identity theory helps identify within 1 Peter
‘in-group love’ (as opposed to ‘out-group derogation’) as the key
identity-forming strategy. This position calls into question certain ‘sectarian’ interpretations of the Petrine community and has
significant ramifications for understanding 1 Peter’s configuration of the ‘other.’
21-223 Sheila Shiki-y-Michaels, New York, NY
Ehud and Eglon: A Sinister Farce
Judges is largely a chronicle of flawed leaders, but Ehud’s story (3:12–4:1) is singular. Ehud becomes a Judge after a single
act of trickery and murder. He is able to assassinate Eglon, the
Moabite leader, by lulling him into arranging an assignation.
That tryst gives Ehud entrée to a private interview and time to
escape after attacking. The opaque tale is cluttered with verbal
and visual puns that freight the story’s meaning. Most commentators recognize the sexual content of imagery such as Eglon’s
flesh closing around and holding Ehud’s sword. But they feminize Eglon—“fatted” calf—while ignoring (i.e., rejecting) that
Ehud knowingly invites the rendezvous. Commentators tend to
step back from the complicity and betrayal. Both Lawson Stone
and Jack Sasson held, at SBL 2008, that the description of Eglon
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as “baria,” indicated firm, fit and well-fed, rather than copiously
fat. He was a military man, but not a eunuch. Eglon was a commander tacitly invited to take a young lover. Ehud is introduced
as left-handed, from the tribe of “Right Hand” (Benjamin). His
position is introduced as anomalous, and the auditors are invited to hear a scatological story, with sexual content. Communal
eating without utensils—using the right hand only—was and is
the norm in much of the world. The left hand is for cleaning
oneself and for sex. Left-handedness is socially isolating and
this emphasis on left-handedness lays out the story. The Israelites send Ehud with a tribute “by his hand,” believing he would
please Eglon. Ehud’s Judgeship is followed by that of Deborah
(4:1), a woman, or by Shamgar son-of-Anat, the Canaanite warrior goddess (3:31). I will examine the artful imagery here as
well as the thread, throughout Judges, of empowered atypical
guerilla leaders.
21-223 Susan E. Haddox, Mount Union College
Transgendering Wo/man, Transgendering God: Subverting the
Boundaries of Identity in Hosea
Hosea is a book that from its very beginning challenges the
standard categories of gender, sexuality, and identity. The book
opens with God ordering the prophet to marry a woman of
promiscuities. This woman fits neither into the patriarchal categories of virgin nor prostitute. Her status is described not with
a noun, a static characterization, but with a participle that defies
exact translation and interpretation. Her name, Gomer, further
blurs the wife’s identity, because elsewhere it appears as a male
name. Gomer’s children raise more questions. The first, Jezreel,
is born as a son, the desire of every patriarch, but he symbolizes the sins and destruction of certain hegemonic masculine
ideals: dynasty and warfare. By the end of chapter 2, Jezreel has
been transformed into a daughter. The second and third children raise challenges to the essential identity of Israel. Are they
God’s people or aren’t they? The rest of the book continues these
challenges, not allowing the reader to settle comfortably into
an understanding of the identities of either Israel or God. The
prophet employs a wide variety of metaphors to create these
tensions. The predominantly male original audience of Hosea
was transgendered by being portrayed as the unfaithful wife to a
male god, but was also challenged as men by the use of imagery
of male impotence and dishonor, as well as images drawn from
the animal and plant worlds. God is primarily shown as the hegemonic masculine ideal: the powerful husband, the righteous
judge, but these portrayals are intertwined with counter-images
of God as nurturing mother and aggrieved she-bear. The use of
queer hermeneutics draws out these tensions and boundary defying identities in the book of Hosea with implications for both
ancient and contemporary audiences.
21-223 Alissa Jones Nelson, University of St. AndrewsScotland
Sexuality and the Bible: Regression, Digression, Conscription and
Liberation
Academic papers on the topic of the Bible and sexuality often
make brief reference to the idea that the Bible has no concept
of sexuality or orientation. In opposition to this view, certain
Christian communities and recent supporters of Proposition
8 would assert that the biblical concept of sexuality sanctions
only those sexual relationships that occur in marriage, which is
defined in such contexts as a sacred union between one man
and one woman. Both are often throwaway comments, giving
little or no textual support for the opinion but rather assuming
the preexistent agreement of the audience. Furthermore, neither perspective generally takes adequate account of the wide
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range of largely ambiguous biblical texts that address the issues
of sex, marriage, and inter-human relationships. In both cases,
the primary concern seems to be the ways in which the Bible
supports or maligns contemporary sexual practices and the case
for or against same-sex marriage. In response to the popular
(mis)use of a shorthand biblical sexuality in the political arena,
this paper will argue that the biblical text itself cannot be unambiguously conscripted to support either political agenda. It
will ask whether a biblical concept of sexuality may provide a
challenge to contemporary sexual categories, particularly with
regard to orientation, and whether a concept of sexuality without hetero-, homo-, or bi- qualifiers may present a way forward
in the current debate. This paper seeks to begin with the biblical
text itself, to embrace its complexity and ambiguity with regard
to questions of sexuality, and to ask not how this supports or
fails to support contemporary sexual practice and politics but
rather how this very ambiguity may be liberative for contemporary sexual practice and politics.
21-224 Peter M. Head, University of Cambridge
The Marginalia of Codex Vaticanus: Putting the Distigmai (Formerly Known as ‘Umlauts’) in Their Place
In recent years it has been suggested that the double dots in the
margins of Codex Vaticanus (Cod. Vat. Gr. 1209 or B/03) are ancient markers of places of known textual variation (most notably
by Philip Payne). This paper challenges the claimed antiquity of
these double dots by investigating their relationships with other
marginal material in Codex Vaticanus; including the marginal
marks (or diple) noting OT citations; and the various levels of
marginal chapter markings; and other comments and corrections. A relative chronology of all the marginalia is proposed and
demonstrated visually. This relative chronology suggests that the
distigmai are the latest observable additions to this codex. Other
considerations also confirm a sixteenth century date for these
markers of places of textual variation.
21-224 Matteo Grosso, University of Torino
‘Where there is No Male and Female’: The D-Text of Colossians
and Women
The variant reading that in some “D-type” witnesses presents
the insertion of the words “male and female” at Col 3:11 is normally held as secondarily generated by the influence of Gal. 3:28.
This paper proposes an assessment of that judgement through
a reconsideration of the variant reading in the light of the antiwomen scribal tendency detectable both in the “D-type” text and
in the rest of the manuscript tradition of the Pauline Epistles. In
this way it shows that some noteworthy reasons can be found
supporting the case that this reading was part of the earlier text
of the epistle.
21-224 Gregory S. Paulson, University of Edinburgh
Singular Readings: Harmonizations in Codex D in Matthew
Scribes undoubtedly corrupted the text of the New Testament,
either intentionally or unintentionally. One such corruption is
harmonization, which occurs when “discordant parallels” are
brought into verbal agreement (Metzger and Ehrman, Text of
the New Testament, 262). Scribes were very aware of gospel parallels, but what purpose did parallels serve for the scribe of codex
D in Matthew? The scribe’s technique was to intentionally copy
words from Mark, Luke, and John and use them in the parallel
passage in Matthew. The scribe altered the text before him/her
in a reasonably unobtrusive manner since usually just one word
has been affected. The scribe has demonstrated sophistication in
copying since the alterations smooth difficult readings in Matthew. There are no theological tendencies noticeable from the
material harmonized in Matthew (unlike Acts, as seen in Epps
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monograph, Theological Tendency of Codex Bezae). Of the thirty-four singular harmonizations, twenty-one involve one word
and result in smoother readings. The alterations are systematic
since the scribe tends to be consistent in making the same alterations throughout parallel passages in all the gospels, therefore
giving the impression of intention. The assimilated text in D in
Matthew improves the text in the simplest fashion since usually
just one word is altered. For example, in 15:27 the scribe singularly changes the verb to agree with the subject’s number, which
parallels Mk 7:28 exactly. In addition, the noun “maidservant”
in 26:71 is added to clarify the text (as read in 26:69 and Mk
14:69). The scribe used parallels as a critical resource to smooth
and clarify the Matthean text yet was careful not to alter the text
more than a single word in most cases. Overall, these tendencies demonstrate that the scribe was mindful of what he/she was
copying and intended to make a smoother, more readable copy
of Matthew.
21-224 Bill Warren, New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary
Just Spell It Like It Sounds! Case Studies on the Spelling Tendencies of Scribes
When does spelling matter? Spelling differences are common
among the NT manuscripts, but how can their importance be
weighed? Were they due to unintentional spelling errors by
scribes or at times do they represent intentional changes designed to alter the meaning of the text, like when a verb hinges
on whether an omega or an omicron is present, as in Rom. 5:1?
This presentation, part of a larger study that is looking at orthographic tendencies both by individual manuscript characteristics
and over the chronological range from the second century to the
fifteenth century, highlights some initial findings by way of selected case studies.
21-224 James M. Leonard, University of Cambridge
Codex Schøyen as an Alternative Gospel of Matthew: A Consideration of Schenke’s Retroversion of Matthew 12:2–14
Codex Schøyen is a substantial but fragmentary Coptic papyrus manuscript of Matthew’s Gospel. It dates early, perhaps early
fourth century, but only recently became public (1999). Its editio
princeps was produced by H.-M. Schenke, who concluded that
its text is a translation of an entirely different Vorlage than that
reflected in the NA27. For Schenke, Codex Schøyen reflects an
alternative Matthew which illuminates the statements of Epiphanius and Papias regarding early Christian gospels. Apart from
an article and review by Tjitze Baarda who called for additional
analysis (NT 46, 265–287; 302–306), Schenke’s striking claims
have gone unchallenged. These claims are clearly reflected in his
retroversion. This paper analyses one side of the best preserved
page of the manuscript, focusing on the verse which Schenke
retroverts most differently from NA27. Schenke’s retroversion of
Matt 12:11 deviates from NA27 in 16 of 26 words. Thus, if the
retroversion is indeed an accurate picture of Codex Schøyen’s
Vorlage, then the conclusion would seem inevitable that Codex
Schøyen is derived from a long lost version of Matthew. Alternatively, Schenke’s method of retroversion could be flawed, and
if so, one must ask whether Codex Schøyen’s Coptic is actually a
faithful rendering of a text comparable to NA27. This paper will
evaluate these possibilities.
21-225 Helmut Koester, Harvard University
Paul in the Prophetic Tradition of Israel
Dieter Georgi’s research on Horace and Virgil deepens our
understanding of Paul’s eschatology and clarifies that the primary aim of Paul’s missionary activity was to bring about a new
“theocracy.” Paul worked to build a new society of equality and
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justice in this world and sought to live in anticipation of the future coming of Christ’s rule. Thus, “righteousness of God” is not
personal justification for the individual sinner, but rather justice in the society of Israel. In this respect, Paul stands in the
succession of the prophetic message of Israel, especially that of
Second Isaiah. This latter aspect—the dependence of Paul (and
of Jesus!) upon Israel’s prophetic tradition has been sadly lacking in research on Paul (the focus has been to much on rabbinic
Judaism) and, alas, also in scholarship on the historical Jesus.
Pauline scholarship has focused too much on rabbinic Judaism,
while historical Jesus research has focused too much on Cynic
philosophy, rather than on the Israelite prophetic tradition.
21-225 Angela Standhartinger , Philipps Universität-Marburg
The Political Impact of Gnosticism: Dieter Georgi’s Research on
Paul and the Wisdom of Solomon in his Later Frankfurt Period
During the period in which Dieter Georgi taught at the University of Frankfurt, Germany (1983–2005), he collaborated with
Jewish political philosopher Jacob Taubes in the publication of
the German original of Theocracy in Paul’s Praxis and Theology
[“Gott auf den Kopf stellen,” in: Religionstheorie und politische
Theologie II: Theokratie (ed. J. Taubes; Munich: Fink, 1987)
148–205]. In addition, Georgi developed the thesis that the Wisdom of Solomon is the earliest known Gnostic writing and that
from it we can understand Gnosticism as a process of conscious
raising that transcends time and space [cf. “Das Wesen der
Weisheit nach der ‘Weisheit Salomos,’” in: Religionstheorie und
politische Theologie II Gnosis und Politik (ed. Taubes, Munich:
Fink, 1984) 66–88, 80f]. This paper will outline Dieter Georgi’s
research on the speculative branch of wisdom theology from his
earliest work on Philippians 2:6–11 to his latest research on the
Wisdom of Solomon. The paper will address the political impact
of wisdom theology and will elucidate Georgi’s contributions to
hermeneutics, using the example of the Wisdom of Solomon,
exploring how his understanding of Wisdom theology has led to
a better understanding of Paul’s political theology.
21-225 Richard A. Horsley, University of Massachusetts
Boston
A True Prophet: Dieter Georgi and ‘Gott auf den Kopf Stellen’
Among the many distinctive abilities exhibited by Dieter Georgi
was that he always maintained a critical awareness of the religious aspects of the social-political context that New Testament
texts addressed, of the political perspective and implications of
the texts themselves, and of the political context and agenda of
the contemporary interpreters. His students in both the U.S. and
Germany were always challenged by these critical perspectives
on the text as well as by his brilliant and incisive exegesis. In
this session I should give special attention to the basic ways in
which Dieter Georgi was the “god-father” of the Paul and Politics Group and the issues it explores. (It is not “by accident” that
Dieter Georgi’s important article “Who is the True Prophet” on
Roman imperial theology and extensive excerpts from his book
on “God Turned Upside Down” are features in the collection on
Paul and Empire.)
21-228 Claire Clivaz, University of Lausanne
Agonia and Sweat: A Quest for Links between Body and Mysticism
Starting from the enigmatic passage of Lk 22,43–44 (the angel
and the sweat “like drops of blood”), the paper will underline the
existence of a cultural matrix, according to Michael Riffaterre’s
terminology. One can observe the development of a cultural matrix agonia/sweat from the Homeric texts until the mystical texts
of Hierotheos and of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagitus. The dou-
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ble meaning of the Greek term agonia (anxiety/fight) has led to a
range of different adaptations of this cultural matrix, sometimes
in religious framework, sometimes in non religious framework.
For the latter, see for example Theophrastes (De sudore 11–12)
or Philo (Leg. Caium 243). For the former, see for example the
experience of Aelius Aristides in Asclepios’ sanctuary (Sac. Disc.
4,17–18), or Jacob’s description in Midrash Rabba 65,19, or Eusebius (Comm. on Psalm 54,4), or Philostrates (Heroikos 19,5).
Language generally separated the descriptions evoking an experience of “fight and sweat,” or of “fear and sweat,” even inside the
mystical background (see the Holy Book of Hierotheos 2,21,43
and Pseudo-Dionysios in Eccl. Hier. 7,553A). But according to
the analysis of emotional language by Kövecses, the body remains able to give limits to language and significations, because
it can unify diverse meanings. Consequently, the extreme description of a sweat “like drops of blood” or of hematidrosis can
illustrate an intense fight (Theophrastes), as well as a maximal
fragility (Diodorus, Aristotle), or as a mystical experience (Hierotheos). The polyvalence of the cultural matrix agonia/sweat
allows one also to understand why Lk 22,43–44 was differently
interpreted (fight/anxiety/mysticism). This paper confirms on
a precise point Ra’anan Boustan’s hypothesis about the transfer of features and descriptions from martyr to mystic, adding
the sportive framework. When the Olympic games eventually
ceased in the dying Greco-Roman empire, the cultural matrix
agonia/sweat pursued its way into mystical spheres.
21-228 Lucy Huskinson, Bangor University
The Violence of Religious Experience and the Birth of Ethical
Awareness
In anthropological and psychological discourse, religious experience is commonly classified in terms of the presence of the
ego-personality or its absence. I shall argue that Paul’s experience on the Road to Damascus is a conversion experience that
exemplifies the second type (where the ego-personality of Saul
is absent). Biblical accounts of Paul’s experience are utilised to
support the following argument. According to the Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, the ego experiences the Otherness
of the divine as a violent attack on its finite-orientation. I argue
that in Levinas’ thought we find an ethical demand at the root
of all religious experience, which calls the ego’s assumptions into
question, and forces it to re-evaluate its orientation in life. In
religious experience the ego is a victim, who must endure the violence of the divine if it is to outgrow its limited preconceptions
and receive wisdom. If we evaluate the second type of religious
experience (exemplified by Paul’s conversion) in Levinasian
terms, we find the sudden demotion of the ego-orientation to
be a violent shattering of the self-containment of the ego. (In
anthropological discourse this is often called ‘loss of soul’; and
in psychiatric diagnoses of religious experience, a ‘pathological
dissociated ego-state’.) However, it is precisely through the shattering of the ego that it is able to relinquish its prejudices and
subjective concerns, and become more objectively oriented in
life. Levinas’ ideas are supported by the psychological observations of C.G. Jung. According to Jung’s diagnostic criteria, the
second type of religious experience, rather than the first, leads
to the (positive) transformation of the ego. I conclude that this
second type facilitates greater ethical awareness. That is to say, it
is only through the violent divine act of shattering the personality of Saul, that the greater ethical awareness of Paul could come
into being.
21-228 Wooil Moon, Claremont Graduate University
The Ritual Construction of the Gospel of Thomas (NHC II,2)
This paper proposes that a catabasis ritual provides the frame-
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work of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas (NHC II,2). The majority
of scholars define the Gospel as a sayings collection compiled
through multiple stages of transmission. It is, for them, only
intermittently connected by topic, form and/or catchwords
without any coherent principle applicable to the overall structure. Nicholas Perrin (2002), however, defended the orgainc
unity of the Gospel, contending that it was originally composed
in Syriac by “one author at one time,” and all the sayings are “knit
together as a seamless whole” by the frequent use of catchwords
and paronomasia. This study reserves judgments on the original
language, date, provenance, and source of the Gospel, but supports its unity by reading the sayings from history-of-religious
and memesis-critical perspectives. This reading reconsiders the
nature and format of the Gospel depending on the following observations. First, the Gospel contains components peculiar to a
journey into a crypt, and its sayings are organized to facilitate
its process. Second, the components resonate not only with the
“prehistoric ritual pattern” W. F. J. Knight (1935) derived from
the Sixth Aeneid and the Epic of Gilgamish but also with the
factors of the “catabasis ritual” Hans Dieter Betz (1980) extracted from a “Greek magical papyrus.” Third, catabatic myths
and rituals were prevalent in the Greco-Roman world, and their
literary uses are readily detected in Homer, Plato, Virgil, Ovid,
Plutarch, Apuleius, Clement of Alexandria, etc. Fourth, another
Thomasine text, i.e. the Acts of Thomas, portrays Judas Thomas
as a mystic who invokes Jesus Christ to raise the dead from the
underworld, and its Sixth Act, like the Sixth Aeneid, forms a
nekyia. These observations indicate the significance of the descent ritual in the Thomasine tradition, and characterize the
Gospel of Thomas as a manual for the ritual.
21-228 Rodney A. Werline, Barton College
Self-Imposed Liminality in the Qumran Scrolls
The members of the Qumran community chose for themselves an austere and regimented life in an extremely harsh
environment. Their existence on the physical edge served as
the embodied enactment and experience of their eschatological and theological convictions. Remembering that Amos had
warned that God would send the people “beyond Damascus”
(Amos 5:27), the people of Qumran symbolically understood
their location in the Judean desert as the “land of Damascus,”
which conceptually places them in a space “between” the other
side of Damascus and Jerusalem. In this way, they were not quite
in exile and they were not in Jerusalem, and the exile was perhaps almost but not quite over. Rather they were the “returnees”
(or penitents), who through their penitential, disciplined life
were “preparing the way in the wilderness” and were “making
atonement for the land.” Thus, spatially situated in this manner,
they were also “temporally” situated at the brink of a new era
which was in part coming about by their actions—again, isolated between the dominion of Belial and the eschaton. Relying
on theorists such as Turner, Bourdieu, Rapport and Geertz, this
paper argues that the Qumran community, by subjecting itself
to an existence at the edge of society and on the edge of life,
enacted an embodied drama of liminality, which contained both
these spatial and temporal dimensions.
21-229a Beth Alpert Nakhai, University of Arizona
Personal Piety in Iron Age Israel: The Archaeology of Household
Religion
In Iron Age Israel and Judah, ritual acts reflected the two main
elements of life, subsistence and the domestic economy, and
health and reproduction. Evidence suggests that matters relating to subsistence and the domestic economy were attended to
at the household shrine, located in the home of familial elders
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within the residential housing compound. These “shrines-ofthe-elders” can be identified by their constellation of built space
and specialized cultic contents. Alternately, matters relating to
health and reproduction were managed within the individual
four-room house, where rituals were enacted using an assortment of religious ephemera. Both men and women engaged in
worship at the “shrine-of-the-elders” and men may have engaged in healing rituals within the individual house, but other
aspects of domestic religion, given the intimate nature of their
concerns, remained within the purview of women. This paper
explores the archaeological evidence for personal piety in the
bet ‘av or extended family, at “shrines-of-the-elders” and in individual four-room houses.
21-229a Robert D. Miller, Catholic University of America
Shamanistic Ritual in Iron I Israel and Biblical Psalmody
Resources for the archaeology of ritual in Iron I highland Israel are scarce: incense burners, a few probable shrines, and
small figurines. This paper catalogs the known cultic objects,
noting both analogies from surrounding cultures and broad
ethnographic data. These parallels combine with the evidence
of faunal remains from the Israelite shrines to reveal a remarkable new picture of early Israelite ritual. The statuary, burners,
and deer cranial bones suggest a shamanism, which is also directly suggested by an anthropological reading of the economy
and settlement patterns of the Israelite settlement. This is the
popular religion abundantly evident within the biblical text in a
number of early psalms and other poems, not wholly displaced
by later standardization of Yahwism.
21-229a Michael Hundley, University of Cambridge
Before YHWH at the Entrance of the Tent of Meeting
Scholars have interpreted the ritual location “at the entrance of
the Tent of Meeting” in the Priestly texts variously as the entire
courtyard or the zone between the altar and the courtyard gate.
My paper posits a more straightforward solution. With the help
of architectural theory and a survey of Ancient Near Eastern
(ANE) temple structures, I re-examine the issue by analyzing
“the entrance of the Tent of Meeting” alongside the often parallel
expression “before YHWH.” In the ANE, as today, walls provide
boundary markers and doors the means of access between different significant spaces. In the tabernacle, the linen hangings
and the tabernacle curtains delimit the sacred precincts and the
sacred abode respectively, while the entryways to the courtyard
and the Tent of Meeting naturally provide the access points.
The expression “before YHWH” means in the deity’s proximate presence, and, more specifically, somewhere inside the
sacred sphere. The exact location is determined by the nature
of the ritual and the individual’s access. In each instance, “before YHWH” means as close to the divine presence as one can
safely go. For the common Israelite, who has access only to the
courtyard, “before YHWH” signifies the access point to the tabernacle, “the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.” In other words, he
may come to God’s doorstep but no closer. Together, the phrases
“before YHWH” and “at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting”
are spatially variable yet conceptually rich. By approaching the
entrance of the Tent of Meeting, whether this means standing at
the literal threshold or simply at the altar, the Israelite comes as
close to YHWH as possible. This boundary between heaven and
earth is thus the ideal place for the layperson’s ritual activity.
21-229a Graydon F. Snyder, Chicago Theological Seminary
Table Structures in Early Christian Refrigeria
The structure of tables for formal or ritual meals in Greco-Roman society can be established by the archaeological remains
of symposia. The architecture of Christian ritual or formal
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meals cannot be seen until catacomb art appears (ca. 180 C.E.).
However, narratives in the New Testament signal several types
of table arrangement (e.g., John 12:1–8; John 13:21–26 [1 John
1:1?]; Luke 22:7–23; 1 Corinthians 11:17–34; Mark 14:3–9). In
early Christianity there are some archaeological indications of
triclinia, but catacomb art shows the use of a semicircular table
called a stibadium. The stibadium seated seven people. In the
art the deceased person may be present. Regardless of the early
Christian literature women were clearly present at these tables.
21-230 Ekkehard Stegemann, Theologische Fakultät der
Universität Basel
Reconciliation and Pauline Eschatology in Romans
In Paul’s conceptualization ‘reconciliation’ characterizes the
beginning of the eschatological turn of the ages. It means completion of the enmity existing with God because of sins and to
that extent ‘peace’ with him (Rom. 5:1–11). Like many other references in Romans (gospel, justice, faith, redemption etc.) this is
reminiscent of the Augustean eschatology and the proclamation
of a golden age of peace and a Roman rule without end or borders. Like N. Elliott (The Arrogance of Nations, Minneapolis:
Fortress Press 2008) my paper also reads as a subtext in the letter
to the Romans a competition of God’s son Jesus Christ with the
Caesar, the divi filius, over the legitimate rule and the legitimization of the ruler, especially via genealogy. But I will stress that
Paul’s gospel is an apocalyptic myth, which contains on the one
hand a cosmic disaster theory and on the other hand a perspective for those who will be rescued from this catastrophe, thus
implying a transformation of terrestrial and mortal human beings into the shape of the heavenly son of God. My paper will
refer to Rom. 1:3–4, Rom. 4 and Rom. 8. Here I will also challenge C. Johnson Hodge’s concept of ‘hybridity ‘ (If Sons, Then
Heirs, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2007). In contrast to her,
I read in Romans, that the gospel brings about for its believers
a ‘hybrid identity’, which exceeds earthly and ethnic descent or
kinship.
21-230 Edward Pillar, University of Wales
“If When We Were Enemies We Were Reconciled to God”: Paul’s
Anti-imperial Language in Romans
Our contention in this paper is that when Paul speaks to the
church in Rome about reconciliation to God, he is articulating
an essential element of his own anti-imperial gospel. Although it
may be typically accepted that Paul is primarily concerned with
the inner spiritual life of the Christian converts in Rome we shall
put forward evidence to show the veracity of our claim that Paul
confronts the gods, powers and values of the Empire, announces
the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the whole of creation, and articulates God’s offer of reconciliation from a position of enemy
of God in the Empire to that of citizen in the kingdom of the resurrected Christ. We shall do this in four specific ways: Firstly, we
shall seek to show that Paul’s highlighting of the death of Christ
and his subsequent resurrection life are fundamental expressions of Paul’s anti-imperial ideas. Secondly, we shall explore
the possible background to Paul’s idea of reconciliation in the
Jewish revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Thirdly, we shall
briefly trace Paul’s argument in Romans 6 in order to emphasize the anti-imperial nature of his gospel and the transference
of allegiance that comes in conversion and then finally, we shall
explore the notion of reconciliation from enemy to citizen.
21-230 William S. Campbell, University of Wales Lampeter
“Welcome One Another as Christ Has Welcomed Us”: Reconciliation in Romans 5:10 and 15:7
The announcement of reconciliation in Romans 5:10–11, read in
conjunction with the reference to the reconciliation of the world
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in Romans 11:15, indicates that this is an underlying theme
throughout the letter. Historically scholars have tended to read
‘reconciliation language’ in Romans almost exclusively on the
theological level with little reference to its social implications in
the human context. When the latter is integrated into the thought
and purpose of the letter, it becomes more apparent that the welcoming one another of those who are and may remain different,
whether as Jews and gentiles or diverse elements related to these,
is in fact to be understood as a significant part of the process of
reconciliation. The glory of God can only be served when those
whom God has reconciled to himself by Christ become agents
of reconciliation in everyday life (cf.2Cor.5:18).The emphasis in
these important texts would indicate that reconciliation between
differing groups is both advocated by Paul and regarded by him
as a crucial aspect of life in Christ.
21-230 Jae Won Lee, McCormick Theological Seminary
Paul and Reconciliation in Romans: From a Korean Postcolonial
Perspective
This paper intends to investigate socio-political and theological/
ideological meanings of reconciliation in Romans from a Korean postcolonial perspective. The paper questions whether the
Korean issue involved in the reality of its divided country under
the U.S. imperial power dynamics and the people’s yearning for
reconciliation/reunification can have some resonance with the
theme of reconciliation among Jews and non-Jews (the nations)
within and outside Christ-believing Roman communities under
the first century Roman imperial domination and its ideological
constraints. Challenging historical and ideological assumptions embedded in the mainstream interpretation about Paul,
Jew/Israel, and the nations under the shadow of Roman imperial
domination, this paper takes seriously colonial and imperial dynamics entangled in the question of unity and difference among
Judeans and the nations in order to explore the full potential of
Paul’s politics of reconciliation (unification) with difference as
a subversive resistance against Roman imperial (in)justice with
its politics of assimilation. The paper will deal with the imperial
construction of Jews (Judeans) as “difference/others” and nonJewish complicity with the imperial dynamics as the context of
Romans and elaborate on the rhetorical and ideological meaning of reconciliation in Romans through studying themes such
as the relationships of Abraham, Judeans, and the nations (Rom
4); Israel and the nations in Christ (Rom 9–11); and the weak
and the strong (Rom 14–15).
21-231 Scott Langston, Texas Christian University
The Hebrew Bible and Reception History: What Does the Bible
Do?
Although a relative newcomer to biblical studies, Reception
History is increasingly being recognized by biblical scholars as
a viable method for studying the Bible. This can be explained in
part by the realization that it provides, among other things, a
tool for exploring popular attitudes about the Bible and social,
political, and cultural issues, as well as the relationship between
what the Bible does and what it means. By focusing on how a
particular biblical text has been used in a specific context, scholars and students can uncover what a text means to a particular
group or individual. Similarly, by studying over time the various
trajectories taken in the uses of a text, the text can be understood organically. Rather than simply searching for meaning in
words, Reception History also looks for meaning in actions (that
is, how biblical texts are used) and understands this meaning
according to the standards and circumstances of the one using
the text instead of the one who composed the text. This does not
mean that issues surrounding the text’s composition and origi-
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nal meaning and use are ignored or de-valued, but they also are
not privileged as the arbiter of legitimacy. Such an approach has
serious implications for how biblical studies are conducted, not
the least of which is how biblical scholars understand the text’s
nature and the insights contributed by popular culture. Popular
uses of the Bible can find meanings and aspects of the text that
might otherwise be eclipsed by scholarly and religious concerns.
When applied to the Bible’s use in American postcards and political cartoons from the 1870s through the 1930s, Reception
History not only demonstrates the concerns of those employing these texts, as well as their creativity in finding effective uses
for them, but also encourages reflection on how scholars and
students think about the Bible. By looking at several examples
of these media this paper will illustrate a way of applying Reception History, while also drawing conclusions about the insights
derived from these postcards and political cartoons. In doing
so, emphasis will be given to the question, “What does the Bible
do?” as a starting point for understanding a biblical text, particularly when considering its use in popular culture.
21-231 David M. Gunn, Texas Christian University
Samson, Suicide, and the Death of Others: Ways of Viewing the
Reception History of Children’s Bible Stories
This paper examines the figure of Samson in children’s Bible story books, in word and picture, through two centuries. The data
is drawn from a large sample of materials published in Great
Britain and North America since the late eighteenth century. I
focus here on the way adults (women and men) have transcribed
for children (whoever they might be) Samson’s violent acts, especially his suicidal slaughter of the three thousand men and
women in the house of Dagon (“so the dead which he slew at
his death were more than they which he slew in his life”). I use
the analysis to raise a series of questions: What purposes does
such an enquiry serve? What are its primary constraints? What
disciplinary expertise does it require of the enquirer? What ideological forms might it take? What can it say about the social
construction of children’s Bibles? And can it say anything useful
about the use of “The Bible”?
21-231 Terry Ray Clark, Georgetown College
Ritual Cursing Past and Present: Jeremiah’s Scroll and the Boston
Red Sox Jersey
How is sinking a scroll into the enemy’s river in 6th century BCE
Babylon similar to burying the jersey of an opponent’s team in
modern America? As an exploratory exercise in the study of
theory and method in the field of Bible and Popular Culture,
this essay will compare and contrast two examples of ritual cursing, one ancient and one modern. Important technical concepts
and practices of ritual cursing will be examined in the context
of ancient Israel (specifically, as reflected in the biblical material of Jer 51:59–64) and modern American sports (specifically,
the baseball rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New
York Yankees). The goal of this project is to demonstrate the usefulness of studying popular religious culture in light of ancient
religious practices and texts, especially biblical texts.
21-231 Lynn Huber, Elon University
What a Drag: How Queer Performance and Critique Can Contribute to Explorations of the Bible and Popular Culture
In the 2008 movie Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist an inebriated young woman calls her friend and proclaims, “I’ve found
Jesus!” We see her look up, as she repeats, “Jesus! He’s much
taller in person.” Standing next to her is an actor dressed as Jesus
smoking a cigarette. We learn later that this Jesus is part of a
holiday themed drag-show. Interestingly, the character dressed
as the Son of God reads as male, perhaps alluding to the ambigu-
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ous gendering of Jesus in the biblical and Christian traditions.
The drag Jesus, moreover, reminds us that drag, camp and other
forms of queer performance and culture are often about more
than entertainment for entertainment’s sake; rather, queer performance can be understood as a critique of dominant cultures,
political, social, and religious, which inscribe heteronormativity
and strict categories of gender and sexuality. In this vein, a drag
Jesus might serve to challenge conservative Christian views of
Jesus as a defender of “family values.” (A recent video featuring the actor Jack Black as a Jesus who challenges California’s
Proposition 8 functioned similarly.) As a form of critique, the
performances of queer culture often exist in tension with popular culture in general, critiquing the latter, while the latter seeks
to embrace, constrain and commodify queer culture. In light
of this messy relationship, this paper will highlight some of the
ways that queer culture might contribute a critical and important
voice to conversations about engaging the intersections between
popular culture and the biblical texts and traditions.
which the concept is to be understood. Yet one may wonder if
his assertion that the implied opposite of knowing kata sarka is
kata stauron, rather than kata pneuma, does not underestimate
the significance of resurrection. Both death and resurrection are
referred to in v.15. A new mode of knowing (v.16) and a new
kind of existence (v.17) are the effect of what is asserted in vv.14–
15. In order to interpret 2Cor 5:16 we need to determine what
the mode of knowing opposed to perception kata sarka consists
in, and in what way the shift in perception affects the knower. I
argue that the primary consequence of this shift is the ability to
behold the divine glory “in the face of Jesus Christ” (4:6), who is
the “image of God” (4:4), and subsequent transformation “from
glory to glory” (3:18). Even as knowledge is the prerequisite for
such a transformation, it remains a dynamic and relational concept (cf. also 5:11). In this paper 5:16 is read in the first place
in the light of what Paul says about knowledge and modes of
knowing in 2Corinthians, but evidence from other letters is also
adduced.
21-232 Sean F. Winter, Uniting Church Theological College
The Meaning and Function of Paul’s ‘Comfort’ Language in 2
Corinthians
While scholars are generally happy to note the predominance
of the language of comfort (parakaleô / paraklêsis) in 2 Corinthians 1.3–7 and 7.5–16 and often make passing reference to
its potential background in biblical traditions of eschatological
comfort, there is a surprising reluctance to explore the implications of this exegesis for our understanding of the overall
purpose of 2 Corinthians. Beginning with the observation that
the letter opening is the place where we might expect the apostle
to introduce important elements of the subsequent argument, in
this paper I go on to consider the evidence for an eschatological
reading of Paul’s comfort language in 2 Corinthians 1.3–7 and
use this as the basis for an exploration of the role of the opening
section in establishing the letter’s ‘rhetorical situation’. Paul’s employment of the ‘comfort’ topos establishes key aspects of Paul’s
subsequent argumentation: namely that the apostolic proclamation and consequent suffering of Paul and his co-workers should
be understood as the mediation of God’s eschatological comfort
and deliverance to the Corinthian community. The Corinthians in turn have the opportunity to play a reciprocal role in this
divine drama as they respond to Paul’s apostolic proclamation,
participate in apostolic suffering and thereby reject the message
of alternative ‘apostles’. Thus, far from being driven solely by the
specific experiences in Asia that Paul describes in 2 Corinthians
1.8–11, the unusual form of the epistolary opening in 2 Corinthians serves to clarify the wider rhetorical purposes of the
letter.
21-232 Laurence L. Welborn, Fordham University
“By the Mouth of Two or Three Witnesses”: Paul’s Invocation of a
Deuteronomic Statute (2 Corinthians 13:1)
The history of interpretation of 2 Cor. 13:1 has been dominated
by a metaphorical construal of the “three witnesses” as Paul’s
three visits to Corinth. This paper proposes a literal understanding of the text: Paul invokes the Deuteronomic rule of judicial
evidence in his own defense, in accordance with the purpose
of the statute to protect against a malicious witness. The paper
then explores the implications of this interpretation for reconstruction of what happened on the occasion of Paul’s second,
“painful” visit to Corinth.
21-232 Dominika A. Kurek-Chomycz, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
“No Longer Knowing Anyone According to the Flesh” (2 Cor
5:16): Paul’s Understanding of Knowledge and Modes of Knowing
in the Second Letter to the Corinthians
In 2Cor 5:16 Paul suggests that concomitant with living “for him
who died and was raised” (cf. v.15) is a new way of knowing. This
new mode is characterized in negative terms: no longer knowing “according to the flesh” (kata sarka). The verse has attracted
much scholarly interest, yet the significance of the first part and
its role in Pauline epistemology, have been largely subsumed by
the controversies concerning the second part. This has often led
to reading the verse in isolation from its immediate context. J.
Louis Martyn in his famous essay (“Epistemology at the Turn
of the Ages”) rightly pointed to the apocalyptic setting against
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21-232 Dustin W. Ellington, Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo
Not Intended for Life Application? The Basis and Aims of Paul’s
“I” in 2 Corinthians 10–13
Remarkably for the series in which he writes, The NIV Life Application Commentary, Scott Hafemann is reluctant to say that
Paul’s experience of power in weakness in 2 Corinthians applies
to his readers, then or now. He also faults J. H. Schütz for seeing Paul’s suffering as reflective of general Christian experience.
Moreover, Margaret Thrall’s ICC: 2 Corinthians states: “[H]e is
not here concerned with the application to all believers of his
own claim to be strong in conditions of weakness.” In their study
of 2 Corinthians 10–13, scholars tend to focus on Paul’s defense
and his opponents; they typically miss clues in the text suggesting that he had concerns beyond his own apostleship. Paul
states: “Do you think that all this time we have been defending
ourselves to you? Before God we speak in Christ. Everything,
beloved, is for building you up” (2 Cor. 12:19). My analysis of
2 Corinthians 10–13 suggests that Paul not only defends his
ministry but also, through his personal example, teaches the Corinthian congregation the way that power and weakness cohere
in Christian life and leadership. I will demonstrate that Paul carries out these aims by rooting his own experience in Christ, who
“was crucified in weakness but lives by the power of God. We are
weak in him, but we will live by God’s power…” (2 Cor. 13:4).
I will argue that Paul bases his manner of holding power and
weakness together not on a foundation unique to his apostleship
but instead on the far broader basis of believers’ participation in
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The categories that
surround and describe Paul’s example—grace, weakness, power,
and other participatory expressions—are not ones that Paul relegates to apostles alone. Therefore Paul’s words speak beyond
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his own ministry, depicting for the Corinthians a life of genuine
participation in Christ.
21-233 A. Sue Russell, Biola University
The Development of Douglas’ Grid/Group as an Analytical Tool
and its Application to 1st Century Judaism
Mary Douglas (1982) proposed that there are only a limited
number of social models on which people form their social relations based on a two dimensional classificatory scheme of grid
and group. She proposed that each of the four types of social environments formed through the combination of grid and group
has its own particular cosmology and way of life, particularly attitudes toward risk and change. This scheme was later developed
and elaborated by Thompson, Ellis and Wildavsky 1990, and
Lingenfelter 1992, 1996. These prototypes have been helpful in
describing predictable differences in theological interpretations,
(Wildavsky 1984, Atkins 1991, Malina 1986), perceptions of risk
and change (Douglas and Wildavsky 1982, Gross and Rayner
1985) perceptions of science and nature (Bloor and Bloor 1982)
and perceptions towards resources, labor, and authority (Lingenfelter 1992 Harris 1996a). This paper explores Douglas’ first
introduction of the model and then later elaboration, development, and use of the model by others to explain differences in
social relationships and cultural bias. It then uses Douglas’ model to explore how differences in social environment of groups
within first century Palestine explains in part their different response to Jesus and His message.
21-233 Kevin Pittle, Biola University
Impurity and Power: Anthropological Considerations of Agency,
Hybridity, and the Performance of Counterdesire
That which does not fit readily into a society’s culturally preconceived taxonomic categories is structurally ambiguous. Such
confusing things and people are “out of place” in the Cosmos.
They are offensive, abominable, unclean, defiled, impure, polluting—simply put, they are dirt and therefore dangerous. Since
the original publication of Mary Douglas’ Purity and Danger
(1966), these assertions have become commonplace truisms
for many in the fields of religious and biblical studies. However,
within only a few short years of her revolutionary considerations
regarding pollution and taboo, numerous anthropologists and
culture theorists (including Douglas herself), were reconsidering the basic assumptions of such a model. By 1999, Douglas
had to admit that “pollution theory…did not apply to…the
Pentateuch” (viii.), from whence her archetypal litmus test of
the model had come. In 2004, she confessed that her original
formulation, on which so much work in biblical studies has
since been built, was shot full of errors (159–160). Yet, all was
not lost. Prior to her death in 2007, Douglas and others had already proposed multiple improvements to the anthropological
approach to purity/impurity and taboo. In a glowing review of
his work, she also credited one rising anthropologist (Valerio
Valeri 2000), with “scooping” all previous theory and providing
a model that effectively addressed the theoretical and methodological errors hitherto committed (2000:2498). The first part
of this paper consists of a review of the challenges leveled at the
“received tradition” of purity and impurity and the correctives
suggested by Douglas, Valeri and others. This will be followed
by an exposition of emerging themes and avenues of inquiry
in the anthropological/cultural study of ambiguity and impurity. Some of the new themes to be addressed include (a) the
previously overlooked agency and performativity of those who
occupy marginal/ambiguous spaces, (b) the essential constitutive power of the mixed/hybrid, and (c) the informal, “off the
grid” power exercised by those performing in marginal or taboo
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spaces. Ultimately, Douglas, Valeri and others have concluded
that the tabooed/ambiguous/forbidden, rather than threatening
the continuing existence of the Universe, is the only glue that has
the power to hold everything together and prevent its dissolution. The counterdesire of taboo is the contrast through which
the subject’s self-definition (and continuation) is made possible.
21-233 Ritva H. Williams, Augustana College
Ingesting Impurity: the Social Body and Its Survival
Drawing on anthropologist Mary Douglas’ insight that the physical body often functions as a symbol of the social body, I explore
the social values and anxieties embedded and articulated in
early Jesus-group debates about the possibility and appropriateness of ingesting impurity. My claim is that these debates reflect
disagreements over what constituted the greatest threat to the
survival of these fledgling assemblies that often found themselves struggling for existence in less than friendly surroundings
in the Judean homeland and the cities of the Greek east.
21-238 Mark Sneed, Lubbock Christian University
The Politics of Pessimism: Qohelet and Daniel 7–12 as Mirrored
Responses to Greek Hegemony
Drawing on the work of Fredric Jameson, pessimistic psychology, utopian theory, and genre criticism, this paper will argue that
though Qohelet and Daniel 7–12 seem like opposites in many
ways, their imaginary resolution of the social contradiction of
Greek hegemony creates the same result: the release of psychic
tension and the legitimization of quietism. Both authors share
the same social location (retainer class/scribes). Both are pessimistic about human agency. Both contain utopian and dystopian
elements. Both resolve the problem through the adjustment of
expectations. They differ in that Daniel 7–12 raises expectations
about God and the nation, while Qohelet lowers these. But the
end result is the same: their sense of colonial deprivation is mitigated and their reluctance to activism is legitimized. The latter
assuages their class guilt regarding their somewhat collaboration
with the Greeks as governmental officials. Thus, these elite intellectuals resolve the problem of Greek hegemony imaginatively
through literature, while the Maccabean brothers do it with their
own hands.
21-238 Travis Bott, Emory University
Repetition and the Art of Resistance in Daniel 3
Hector Avalos has observed that “Daniel 3 demonstrates the
complex and artistic manner in which lengthy and repeated
enumerations could be integrated in a socio-religious critique
of pagan social institutions such as the Babylonian government
bureaucracy.” I agree with his assessment that the employment
of enumeration and repetition in Dan 3 is an artistic form of
socio-religious critique. However, in this paper I raise anew the
question of how these narrative techniques function toward the
end of ideological resistance. The paper has three major sections. I present Avalos’s view of comedic enumeration in Dan 3,
critique it on the basis of a new exegetical treatment of repetitions throughout the chapter, and conclude by applying some
theoretical categories from Bruce Kawin and James Scott to elucidate the biblical author’s larger strategy of inculcating Jewish
resistance to imperial domination.
21-238 Ryan E. Stokes, Yale University
The Epistle of Enoch’s Response to Jubilees
The author of the Epistle of Enoch castigates his opponents for
what he perceives to be grievous social injustices and also for
what he regards as erroneous religious teachings. Although
these opponents, much like the Epistle’s historical author himself, remain anonymous throughout the work, certain aspects
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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of the Epistle’s rhetoric suggest that its harsh criticisms are directed against the Book of Jubilees and proponents of that work’s
“rewritten” doctrines. The Epistle opposes Jubilees in the debate
over the origin and nature of human sin and accuses Jubilees of
mishandling the authoritative tradition to which both the Epistle and Jubilees are heirs. That Jubilees and those who adhered
to its teachings seem to be the objects of the Epistle’s religious
invective raises some interesting possibilities with regard to the
social location of Jubilees.
21-238 Mark D. Mathews, University of Durham
Name Calling at Qumran and in the Apocalypse of John: Identifying Phases of Sectarian Development through Labels and
Sobriquets
Name-calling, or labelling, was and is an effective means of creating boundary markers and forming community identity. The
sectarian documents found at the Qumran site demonstrate
a sustained practice of using associative labels and sobriquets
to make distinctions between the faithful community, as they
understood it, and their opponents. In addition, some of the
non-sectarian documents that were found at the site also demonstrate a similar practice, indicating this was a convention more
widely circulating among Second Temple writers. One document
in particular that employs significant labels for its enemies is the
Epistle of Enoch. Interestingly, this same practice is shared by the
author of the Book or Revelation, in particular with regard to his
correspondence to the seven churches. Previous studies of this
phenomenon have tended to focus on organizational terms that
can be traced among the manuscript traditions of sectarian texts
that define the leadership roles within the Qumran communities. What has not been discussed is how labels and sobriquets
are employed across a variety of texts to discover if it is possible
to identify different phases of community development. This essay examines both sectarian and non-sectarian documents from
Qumran in order to ascertain the degree to which Second Temple writers demonstrate any coherent use of such devices in their
writings. Moreover, attention is given to how these devices function within the development of a community’s identity. Finally,
to the extent that the writer of the Book of Revelation shares in
the implementation of these rhetorical devices and exhibits a decided concern for sectarian ideas, I compare what we can learn
from the Second Temple texts with the Johannine Apocalypse to
see if it is possible to surmise if and where the Book of Revelation might fit into the trajectory of sectarian formation.
21-303 Stacy Davis, Saint Mary’s College
Not Stopping the Music: Art as a Theological Response to Hurricane Katrina
Psalm 137 refers to the exile of the Judeans in Babylon from
587/86–539 BCE. In the first four verses, the singers note that
their conquerors wanted them to sing “one of the songs of Zion,”
but “how could [they] sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”
(Ps 137. 3–4). In contrast, although Hurricane Katrina created
a number of exiles, it did not silence the music for which New
Orleans is famous. This paper will analyze jazz and blues works
that appeared between 2005–2007. These works reveal that their
creators not only promised to remember their home (cf. Ps 137.
5–6) but also used their talents as a form of resistance and an
expression of faith.
21-303 Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Shaw University Divinity
School
God’s Will and So-Called Acts of God: Exiled, Expatriated, and
a Quest
Conquest, war, and natural disasters have displaced people for
millennia. In the ancient near East and twenty-first century
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global communities, deportations have left many in exile. PostKatrina, some pundits callously claimed divine judgment against
New Orleans and the Gulf Coast as punishment for debauchery,
lewd, lascivious behavior. This essay contrasts and compares
exilic experiences in scripture, New Orleans, and literature,
pre and post-Katrina, from a womanist perspective. Following
an introduction of methodology and terms, I explore: (1) contextual realities of pre-exilic Israel and the U.S. Gulf Coast; (2)
roles of differentiation, power, and theodicy in exile; (3) parallels
between exile and invisibility in scripture and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man; and (4) paradox and myth of home and return from
exile in contexts and texts of 2 Kings and Broadway production
“The Wiz.”
21-303 Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, Belmont University
The Rhythm and Blues of the New Testament
Using cultural hermeneutics, the paper would explore ways in
which a select group of rhythm and blues songs performed by
African Americans incorporate biblical themes.
21-303 Kirk Lyons, Union Theological Seminary
A Jazz Hermeneutic: Reading Paul, Hearing Trane “A Love
Supreme”
This paper seeks to elucidate the parallels that exist between
Paul’s critique and use of “boasting” in his letters and the concept of Jazz (African American Classical Music) as an emerging
construct. These similarities include, but are not limited to: (1)
Paul and Jazz musicians utilizing tools that were formerly used
in ways that were exclusive as mechanisms for inclusion; (2)
Both Paul and Jazz musicians were more than marginally successful in facilitating inclusivity (active participation) as well
leadership roles for a constituency struggling against prejudice
and marginalization; (3) Paul and Jazz musicians achieved their
respective goals through highly imaginative use of conventional
mechanisms in unconventional ways. The paper will trace the
methodologies of Paul and Jazz musicians while highlighting
the similarities, misconceptions, and challenges associated with
each of them. Ultimately the paper will demonstrate that an orientation of the history of Jazz can be the catalyst to re-calibrate
our reading of Paul with surprising results.
21-304 Peter D. Miscall, Denver, CO
Isaiah 23–28: Voices, Images, and Genre
A reading of selections from Isaiah 23–28 with close attention
to: who’s speaking, to whom and about what; how imagery and
word play contribute to the impact of the poetry and how assigning a genre, descriptive or prescriptive, aids and/or hinders
reading the chapters. The analysis is not Bakhtinian but is guided
by Bakhtin’s interest in dialogism and genre. The choice of Isaiah
23–28, and not the expected 24–27, directly raises the issue of
genre for these chapters and for the entire Isaiah scroll.
21-305 Andrew Davies, Mattersey Hall
The Saints Go Marching In: Biblical Imagery in the Music of New
Orleans
If ever there were a city that would be defined by and known
internationally for its music, it would be New Orleans. And that
music, with its cultural roots in slavery, the spirituals and gospel
music, has rather more of a biblical edge to it than might be expected. By looking at some classic Dixieland tunes, particularly
the music of New Orleans great Louis Armstrong, including ‘The
Saints’ and ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’, and reading the
music in its cultural as well as its biblical contexts, this paper will
highlight some of the biblical allusions which are so prominent
in traditional jazz, before proceeding to investigate the broader
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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issue of how popular culture takes up important biblical motifs
and ideas and reinvents them, making them relevant to the contemporary community and utilising them as a tool of inspiration
and liberation for the oppressed, and whether this phenomenon
in any way can truthfully be considered biblical interpretation.
21-305 Jay Twomey, University of Cincinnati
The Biblical Man in Black
Johnny Cash’s music engages frequently with biblical texts —
sometimes overtly (“The Man Comes Around,” which quotes
from Revelation), and sometimes more indirectly (“The Ring
of Fire,” which may flirt, ironically, with 1 Cor 7:9). This paper will adapt reception methodologies of scholars like Erin
Runions and Roland Boer for an examination of Cash’s biblically-informed lyrics. It will treat Cash’s music as a mode of
interpretation that can productively be studied with and against
the grain of theological and popular readings of biblical texts.
For instance, one can set Cash’s reading of Revelation, in “The
Man Comes Around,” into conversation with early American
homiletics, as the song’s reference to the parable of the ten virgins (Matt 25:1–13) is reminiscent of Thomas Shepard’s 17th
century post-millennial Puritanism. The paper would also note
that the song, appearing in 2002, the year the 10th volume in the
wildly popular Left Behind series was issued, seems to tap into
contemporary, and decidedly pre-millennial apocalyptic politics. In discussing this and other songs, my paper will ask and
try to answer the following questions. How does Johnny Cash
— the gospel-singing counter-cultural iconoclast and drug-addicted friend of Billy Graham, and the author of a 1986 novel
on Paul (entitled ‘Man in White’) in which Paul’s mysticism has
more in common with Satan’s cosmic journey in Milton than
with contemporary American evangelicalism — how does Cash
negotiate these very different traditions of American religious
conservatism? What becomes of the Bible in this process of complex cultural exchange and negotiation? And, most importantly,
how have audiences, religious and secular audiences alike, actually responded to Cash’s biblical interventions?
21-305 Robert Paul Seesengood, Albright College
Crossroads: Wilderness Temptation and the Characterization of
Jesus of Nazareth and Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson was a legendary blues guitar player from Cleveland Mississippi. His music influenced Eric Clapton, the Rolling
Stones, the Beatles, Muddy Waters, Elvis and a host of other
musicians very far from the Mississippi Delta of his birth. Johnson achieved this influence with fewer than 30 recorded tracks,
mostly of himself singing and playing without additional accompaniment. He died before reaching the age of 30). Johnson,
the child of poor, black sharecroppers, was also limited by the
segregation of the Jim Crowe south. He died months before a
scheduled performance in New York. Johnson was famous for
a rough and tumble career, filled with stories of hard drinking,
womanizing and brawling. He was poisoned to death in 1938
by a jealous husband while playing a joint outside of Greenville,
MS. Johnson’s life, easily the stuff of folk-legend, seems both supernaturally blessed and cursed. In fact, Johnson was reputed
to have gained his skill as a bluesman at an extraordinary cost.
According to legend, Johnson and the Devil had a midnight encounter at a rural crossroads. The Devil tuned Johnson’s guitar
and taught him his own blues technique in exchange for Johnson’s soul. This paper will contrast this episode from the legend
of Robert Johnson with the Temptation of Jesus found in the
synoptic gospels (Mark 1:12–13; Matt. 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13).
I will argue that the comparison reveals Johnson, on the one
hand, to be an “anti-type” of the resistant Jesus; this comparison
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heightens the image of Johnson as counter-cultural rebel, “grittily” attractive. In other ways, however, it also depicts Johnson
as somewhat Christlike—a vicarious sufferer, yet one who gives
his all for his art. The tensions between these two roles provokes
the ambivalence regarding Johnson’s lore (and also reflects the
subaltern resistance of poor blacks in segregated Mississippi).
21-305 Spencer Allen, University of Arkansas
The Bible’s “Hard Headed Women”
Claude Demetrius both wrote “Hard Headed Woman” and
“Mean Woman Blues” for Elvis. Both songs provide the singer a
chance to deride women, as the titles unapologetically suggest,
and then attempt to undo the damage with a quick joke at the
end. Ultimately, we learn that the singer in “Hard Headed Woman” is a crybaby who cannot cope without his woman, though
no reason for her stubbornness is provided. In contrast, “Mean
Woman Blues” ends by saying that the woman’s meanness is
matched or exceeded by the singer’s own meanness: “sometimes
I think she’s almost mean as me.” Whereas “Mean Woman Blues”
successfully neutralizes its sexist message, “Hard Headed Woman” makes no such attempt. The biblical allusions chosen for
“Hard Headed Woman” are the most loaded allusions one could
choose: Eve, Delilah, and Jezebel. All three were temptresses and
seductresses. However, their villainy is by no means the song’s
worst sexist offense, which repeats itself unanswered through
every refrain: “ever since the world began / A hard headed woman been a thorn in the side of man.” To heighten his accusations,
the singer twists Paul’s words, “a thorn was given me in the flesh”
(2 Cor 12:7, NRSV), to further link Eve with trouble. Assuming
that Demetrius was ignorant of his Pauline source here and its
enhanced meaning, the song still betrays the blatant misogyny
he used to link the all the daughters of Eve with the sins of their
mother(s).
21-306 Nicolae Roddy, Creighton University
Visul Maicii Domnului (“The Dream of the Mother of the Lord”):
A Romanian Amulet Text
The rich and varied tradition of Romanian religious apocrypha
has left a deep and lasting impact on Romanian culture at every
level of its society. Indeed, many of the founders of modern Romanian literature claim to have been nourished by these often
wild and fanciful stories of biblical figures, which despite their
departure from canonical accounts, continued to be copied in
monasteries with no apparent interference on the part of the
hierarchy. The present paper examines the appropriation of a
17th C apocryphal text known as Visul Maicii Domnului (“The
Dream of the Mother of the Lord”) as an amulet text, a category
of relatively brief writings that were not so much read as copied and carried as talismans for protection against malevolent
forces. The presentation will feature an as of yet unpublished
manuscript of the apocryphon, copied as late as 1849 at the Serbian Hilandar Monastery on Mt Athos, made available by the
director and staff of the Hilandar Research Library at Ohio State
University.
21-306 Edward G. Mathews, Jr., St. Nersess Armenian
Seminary
Ephrem the Syrian, On the Seven Vahangs of Joseph
This paper will be the first investigation of a very curious Armenian work that has been handed down under the name of Ephrem
the Syrian. It can be considered Armenian Biblical Apocrypha as
the text, found in many manuscripts, is found ONLY in biblical
manuscripts. The paper will examine those biblical manuscripts
in which the text is found, will try to determine why this text is
included in them, as well as provide a first glance of its contents.
After a discussion of the theological and historical value of the
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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35
text, perhaps some initial suggestions can be made as to the actual provenance of this very interesting text.
21-306 Leslie Baynes, Missouri State University
Enoch and Jubilees in the Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church
Canon is a fluid term in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Church (EOTC). Although critical scholars and members of the
EOTC often claim an 81 book canon, the reality is much more
complex than that. Ethiopian Bibles printed in the United States
look much like Protestant Bibles with their abbreviated canon,
and the Ethiopian liturgical cycle of readings evidences only that
abbreviated canon. How, then, do the many remaining books act
as “canon” in the EOTC? This paper will engage scholarship as
well as interviews with EOTC clergy in America to investigate
how two specific books in the larger Ethiopian canon, Enoch
and Jubilees, function within the life of the EOTC today.
21-306 Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, University of San
Diego
Banned from the Lectionary: Excluding the Apocalypse of John
from the Orthodox New Testament Canon.
Can the Apocalypse of John accurately be described as included in the New Testament canon when it is excluded from the
lectionary of the Orthodox Church? The distinction between
canonical and non-canonical books is that the former are read
in the divine services of the Church. Although Revelation was
universally accepted within the Church as apostolic from the
early second century, soon after the canon formation process
began Dionysios of Alexandria (mid-third century) embarked
on an effort to raise doubts about its apostolic authorship, the
first person ever to do so. His views were strongly promoted by
Eusebius of Caesarea in Ecclesiastical History, who also reported
on the state of the canon in his day. Eusebius feigned historical objectivity, but by listing Revelation in conflicting categories,
simultaneously describing it as universally accepted by all and
as spurious, he clearly displayed his bias against Revelation. Eusebius’ wide readership and influence slowly eroded confidence
in and support for Revelation in the canon, exposing him as the
cause of Revelation’s demise. By the end of the fourth century
the Apocalypse of John was overwhelmingly rejected in the East,
leading directly to its exclusion from the lectionary which formed
shortly thereafter. Canonical lists show a mixed attitude toward
Revelation for centuries. Interest in Revelation steadily grew as
the Byzantine Empire declined, and numerous commentaries
are composed around the time of the fall of Constantinople in
1453. Yet various factors, including the lectionary omission, the
manuscript witness, and its translation into modern Greek, indicate that it still remained clearly outside the canon even into the
18th century. The Orthodox Church seems to have arrived at a
de facto consensus that Revelation is within the New Testament,
in part due to Protestant influence, but can we say that its status
has been conclusively resolved?
21-306 James Buchanan Wallace, Christian Brothers University
“The Innermost Sanctuaries of Paradise”: Paul’s Rapture to
Heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1–4) in Gregory of Nyssa and Symeon
the New Theologian
According to most modern scholars, Paul reports his ascent
into heaven (2 Cor 12:1–4) in order to disparage or even parody
similar claims by rival missionaries. According to the influential interpretation of Ernst Käsemann, Paul disparages ecstatic
experience because it rips one out of historical reality and precludes concrete acts of love and service. This paper examines
the interpretation of Paul’s ascent to heaven (2 Cor 12:1–4) in
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the writings of Gregory of Nyssa (ca. 330–ca. 395 C.E.) and
Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022 C.E.). Not only are
the interpretations of these theologians of intrinsic interest, but
their attempts to appropriate the passage as paradigmatic for
Christian spiritual life enables them to read the details of the
passage in a way that opens new interpretive options to contemporary scholars. Gregory of Nyssa understands the ascent as the
soul’s union with God. This moment of union transcends the
senses as well as discursive reasoning, as Paul’s claim to have
heard “ineffable words” suggests. Despite the “ineffable” nature
of the ascent, this and similar experiences form the basis of
Paul’s ability to theologize. Although Paul could boast of such
high spiritual attainments, he never ceased striving and suffering. Gregory concludes that progress in the union with God is
endless. Symeon the New Theologian quotes and alludes to 2
Cor 12:1–4 in order to describe his own mystical experiences.
For Symeon, experiences analogous to Paul’s ascent provide the
catalyst for self-transcendence and must be actualized in a life
of suffering and service. Despite the value Symeon places on
extraordinary experiences, he remains aware of the temptations
of pride such experiences can foster. According to Gregory and
Symeon, the ascent involves the transcendence of the material world and selfish desires and thus opens the possibility of
genuine love of God and others. In my concluding reflections, I
suggest why Gregory and Symeon’s appropriations of Paul’s ascent to heaven can provide the foundations for a more accurate
interpretation of 2 Cor 12:1–4.
21-306 D. Jeffrey Bingham, Dallas Theological Seminary
Irenaeus and the Other Books: Apocryphal and Non-Canonical
Texts in His Polemic
Irenaeus in his polemic against his opponents appeals to a variety of writings at his disposal in order to ensure a compelling
argument. The literature cited or alluded to, since he writes to
aid a member of his community could reflect a collection accepted not just by him, but also the Catholic Christians of Gaul.
Also, since he has his origin in Asia Minor, under the tutelage
of Polycarp, and has represented his community and the Asian
one before Rome, this collection might represent a more broadly
assembly of recognized books. This assembly of literature included, of course, books within the Hebrew Bible and the New
Testament as well as apocryphal and non-canonical texts (e.g.,
Wisdom, Susanna, Baruch, 4 Esdras, Hermas, Infancy Gospel
of Thomas [?]). This paper will study the way in which Irenaeus
uses apocryphal and non-canonical texts to aid his polemic, the
manner in which he represents their place in the community’s
structure of authority, and compare his engagement with these
texts to the manner in which he handles texts from the Hebrew
Bible and New Testament.
21-307 Gene L. Green, Wheaton College
Lexical Pragmatics and the Lexicon
A central concern in translation is the meaning of words in
semantic structures and therefore lexical semantics receives considerable attention. However, translators and other interpreters
have not adequately explored the importance of lexical pragmatics. Lexical pragmatics moves beyond the relationship between
words and encoded concepts to explore the way the concepts
suggested by a word broaden or narrow in use. Current discussions in Relevance Theory (RT) forward the notion of ad hoc
concept formation, suggesting that words are “pointers to a conceptual space” (Carston, 2002) and that the concepts themselves
must be pragmatically inferred in the process of interpretation.
This paper will explore this RT approach to lexical pragmatics in
relation to biblical translation and the use of the lexicon.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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21-307 Regina Blass, Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School
of Theology
How Much Interpretive Resemblance to the Source Text is Possible in the Translations of Parables?
Parables have been studied from various points of view. As far
as translation is concerned the constraint of faithfulness to the
original rules out only reader-oriented interpretations and the
intention of the author has to be considered. However even confining the interpretation to the author’s intentions we find that
the author’s aim is often to leave the exact interpretation to the
targeted audience. In this paper I would like to propose a relevance-theoretic analysis of the parables in general and of the
parable of the sower (Mk. 4:14–20) in particular. I will then deal
with issues of their translation. The fact that parables contain
extended metaphoric and non-metaphoric content, and determinate and indeterminate meaning content, has caused problems
to authors such as Blomberg (1990), Wenham (1989) and others. Relevance Theory proposes a lexical-pragmatic analysis of
metaphor in terms of ad hoc concepts that is not really different
from the interpretation process of non-metaphoric utterances
(Wilson and Carston 2007). It can also handle author intended
determinate as well as indeterminate meaning. How the lexical
meaning is transferred depends on whether the translator has
an S-mode or I-mode translation in mind (Gutt 2000) which
is constrained by interpretive resemblance. I will propose a hypothesis as to which of the two is most likely the better choice in
the case of parables and why.
21-307 Ronald J. Sim, Narobi Evangelical Graduate School
of Theology
Interpretively Used Language, with Special Reference to the Patriarchal Narratives
Drawing on the work of both Meir Sternberg and Deirdre
Wilson, this paper looks at the variety of forms interpretively
used language take in the Hebrew Scriptures and particularly
(whenever possible) in the patriarchal narratives (Gen 12–50).
Occurrences include not only overtly marked direct and indirect speech reports, but also unmarked cases, the reporting of
thoughts (as well as utterances), of gist as well as content, translations, and free indirect speech, perhaps the most difficult case
of all. Echoically used language is found, giving opportunity also
for the expression of dissociative speaker attitudes which might
be analysed as irony. Brief mention is made to recent approaches to similar issues in biblical studies (e.g., Hayes 1985, Schulz
1999, Allen 2008), with an attempt to look for convergence
between the two approaches. At this stage the paper is largely
programmatic, aimed at discovering how the phenomenon of
metarepresentation shows up in the text, what further study is
needed, and what translators must be alert to.
21-307 Bryan Harmelink, SIL International
“Echoic Use” and the Translation of Theological Concepts
Echoic use of concepts is a foundational notion for translators
to keep in mind in their quest for appropriate terms to translate
theological concepts. Following a discussion of the basic principles of echoic use as developed in Lexical Pragmatics, this paper
explores the potential benefits of these principles for the translator. Echoic use has typically been associated with irony, focusing
on the dissociative dimensions of this kind of language. In contrast, this paper focuses on the attributive dimensions of echoic
use, which have significant implications for the translation of
theological concepts. Echoic use and concept development
are also compared with the lexical processes of narrowing and
broadening as discussed in Relevance Theory. The implications
of echoic use are then considered, using two theological con●
cepts: “glory” and “name” as examples. The role of context is also
discussed, specifically with reference to the crucial role the biblical context plays in the development of theological concepts.
The paper concludes with recommendations for applying these
concepts in the translation process.
21-307 Linda L. Belleville, Bethel College
Linguistic and Cultural Accuracy in Translating Malakoi and
Arsenokoitai in 1 Corinthians 6:9
Current tranlsations of arsenokoitai in 1 Corinthians 6:9 as “sodomites” (NJB, NKJ, NRS), “homosexuals” (NAS, NAU, NLT)
“homosexual offenders” (NIV), “homosexual pervert” (GNB/
TEV), “behaves like a homosexual”(CEV) and “practicing homosexuals” (NET, ESV, NAB, TNIV) have been increasingly
challenged as inaccurate. The wide range in translations of the
preceding Greek term malakoi as “effeminate” (ASV, KJV, NAS,
NAU), “sexual pervert” (RSV), “self-indulgent” (NJB), “men
who practice homosexuality” (ESV), “homosexuals” (NKJ),
“boy prostitutes (NAB), “male prostitutes” (NIV, NLT, NRS,
TNIV) and “passive homosexual partner” is equally problematic. This study seeks to examine malakoi and arsenokoitai in
Hellenistic Greek usage and Greco-Roman moralists with a view
to determining accuracy in translation and Paul’s relationship to
the social norms of his day.
21-307 Chang-Wook Jung, Chongshin University
Translation of Two Conjunctions, One Aorist Participle and One
Present Verb, in Hebrews 4:3
The sentence in Hebrews 4:3 presents some interesting features
concerning the translation. First, the usage and meaning of the
two conjunctions γὰρ and καίτοι in this verse, where five conjunctions appear, require an explanation. Some English versions
(NIV, NJB) and Korean translations do not interpret the first
conjunction as indicating a causal sense. It is also noteworthy
that the second conjunction may mean either “although” or “and
yet” and the punctuation problem emerges with the meaning
“and yet”- period (NIV, NIB; cf. Luther’s German Version) or
comma (NAB). Second, the translation of the participial phrase
οἱ πιστεύσαντες also draws our attention. While most English
versions translate the phrase as “who have believed,” other versions like NJB and NLT understand it as “who have faith” or
“who believe” (cf. Luther’s German Bible). The peculiarity of the
Greek verb “believe” needs to be investigated. Finally, the function of the present tense for the verb ἔρχομαι has to be decided in
this verse, since the present tense may point to future as well as
present action. This study will demonstrate that the careful look
at grammatical features as well as translation theories is even
today necessary to translate the Bible appropriately.
21-308 Kathy Barrett Dawson, Duke University
Intertextuality and Mimetic Reversal in Galatians 1–2: Pauline
Autobiography and the Inclusion of the Gentiles
The interaction of literary criticism, especially intertextuality
and imitation, with the quest for rhetorical functionality and
theological meaning in the Pauline Epistles has transformed
scholarship’s understanding of the autobiographical section in
Galatians from one that was limited to a historical and chronological reconstruction of Paul’s life within Judaism and his mission
to the Gentiles to a much wider understanding of the theological
import and function of these chapters within the whole of the
epistle, e.g. Gaventa’s “autobiography as paradigm” and Lategan’s
proposal that the autobiographical section presents a divine/human contrast and is of “decisive importance” for the rest of the
letter. I will argue that the autobiographical statements have an
additional function within Paul’s theological argument: to contrast the gospel that he received through the revelation of Jesus
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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Christ with septuagintal demands for obedience to the Mosaic
law. The intertextual connection between the autobiographical
section and septuagintal demands for covenantal obedience is
clarified by reading Paul’s thesis statement (Gal 1:11–12) in relation to the preceding curse and stress on the contrast between
pleasing humanity and being a slave of Christ (1:8–10). It is my
contention that Paul draws on numerous phrases from Esdrae
liber II, especially 19:1–20:40 (Goettingen ed.), in order to present a mimetic reversal of the separation of the “sons of Israel”
from the “people of the land,” which played a vital role in the
historical understanding of the covenant renewal that took place
in Ezra-Nehemiah. By presenting a mimetic reversal, or rhetorical parody, of the renewal of the covenant and its demands for
keeping the Mosaic law, Paul is setting the stage for his entire
theological argument for a law-free gospel and the inclusion of
the uncircumcised Gentiles that he presents in Gal 3 and 4.
21-308 Thomas Vollmer, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Letter to Philemon: A Story of Relationships and a Voice for
the Displaced
During the 19th nineteenth century on most Sundays in New
Orleans, one could find music emanating from the Place Congo
(Congo Square), where slaves would gather and play what would
become known as jazz. While no one definition suffices for jazz,
its emphasis on improvisation and narrative distinguish it from
other forms of music. It tells the story of an oppressed and displaced people and speaks of a people in search of an identity. An
unexpected side effect of the jazz phenomenon was its embrace
by non-blacks who identified with its notions of displacement
and search for identity. In addition to music, jazz moved into
literature in the genre of jazz theory. Filled with improvisational
lines, stories of displacement and a search for hope and meaning, it influenced a number of writers in the 20th century. In
honor of this year’s SBL venue, this paper investigates the interface between jazz theory and Paul’s Letter to Philemon. In this
letter, Paul takes the place of Onesimus and appeals to Philemon
for proper, dignified and respectable treatment of a slave. First,
an overview of jazz theory will be discussed, highlighting the rationale for its beginning, the attachment of non-slaves to it, and
the quest for a displacement theology in the 19th and 20th centuries. Second, an analysis of the Letter of Philemon from a jazz
theory perspective will be presented. Third, an inquiry into the
improvisational nature of the letter will be considered, especially
in understanding its movements and flow with levels of improvisational material in between. Finally, it will be asserted that jazz
theory helps us see that Paul set himself up as a displaced slave in
order to compel Philemon to go against social norms and treat
Onesimus as an equal.
21-308 Kellyann Falkenberg Wolfe, Union Theological
Seminary
Jonah and the Comedy of the Green World
Interpreters have noted various comedic elements in the book
of Jonah, including jokes, satire, and comic reversals; they have
also noted the book’s foregrounding of natural elements, especially animals. Drawing upon Northrop Frye’s understanding of
the green world in comedy (the wilderness where comic resolution is achieved), as well as Joseph Meeker’s understanding of
comedy as a story that ends in, and therefore prioritizes, life and
reconciliation, this paper examines the book of Jonah as an exemplar of ecological comedy, ultimately undoing the dichotomy
of human world and green world.
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21-308 T. Delayne Vaughn, Baylor University
The Prophet in the Garden Path: Preference Rules, Cognitive
Narratology, and the Book of Jonah
For the past several decades, cognitive linguists have recognized
a class of statements known as “garden-path sentences.” The
garden-path sentence is one that traps a reader in a processing
failure and triggers a reevaluation. A crucial component of the
garden-path sentence is the reader’s expectation of how language
should work. These linguistic expectations may be referred to
as “preference rules.” In an essay entitled, “‘Speak, friend, and
enter’: Garden Paths, Artificial Intelligence, and Cognitive
Narratology,” Manfred Jahn argues that the garden-path phenomenon may be extended beyond a single sentence to yield a
garden-path story. In the garden-path story, the reader’s preference rules again trick the reader into an initial misinterpretation
of the story that must later be reevaluated. In this paper, I argue
that the book of Jonah may be read as a garden-path story. The
gate to this garden path is opened by the sole prophecy of Jonah
to Nineveh. The expected reading of this prophecy is: “Forty days
more, Nineveh will be destroyed” (Jon 3:4). This reading, however, becomes problematic when Nineveh is not, in fact, destroyed.
Nineveh’s repentance and God’s subsequent refusal to destroy
the city require a reevaluation not only for the reader but even
for the prophet himself. The same preference rule that trapped
the reader has trapped Jonah: that the verb hafak necessarily implies destruction. By reevaluating the prophetic statement, the
reader may recognize that Nineveh was in fact overturned, but
not physically. While less common than shuv, the verb hafak can
be used to describe a change of mind or heart (e.g., Hos 11:8).
With this understanding, the reader may be able to escape the
garden path in which Jonah himself remains trapped.
21-308 Paul K-K Cho, Harvard University
Tamar is Joseph (Metaphor)
The literary unity between the story of Joseph (Gen. 37–50) and
the story about Judah and Tamar (Gen. 38) has been variously
defended ever since Robert Alter’s 1981 The Art of Biblical Narrative. But no work has tried to argue for an essential likeness
between Tamar and Joseph. The similarities between Tamar and
Joseph are several and can serve to establish a metaphorical relationship between them. First, both are objects of sexual desire:
Potipher’s wife lusts after Joseph, as Judah lusts after Tamar. Second, both are liminal characters that make themselves occupy
the centers of their adopted homes: Joseph is a Hebrew who
becomes the governor of Egypt, and Tamar is a Canaanite who
becomes an ancestor to David. Third—and this will be the point
of interest for my paper—both are constructors of representative
realities, most simply understood as fictional plays that take the
place of reality, by which they control their own fate (and that of
others). By means of these representative realities, both Tamar
and Joseph achieve a transcendent freedom from the bounds
of their social realities; for Joseph, from the fate of slavery and
imprisonment, and for Tamar, from the patriarchal society that
defines her as an outsider from the beginning to end: childless
widow, harlot, and pregnant widow, categories of womanhood
unacceptable in the patriarchy. Joseph authors the migration of
his family from Canaan to Egypt, setting the stage for the exodus
narrative; and Tamar writes herself into an Israelite matriarch, an
ancestor to King David. Joseph and Tamar write themselves free,
free from the constraints of their historical and social situatedness. For them, literary creativity has the meaning of freedom.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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21-309 Beth Stovell, McMaster Divinity College
Seeing the Kingdom of God, Seeing Eternal Life: Cohesion and
Prominence in John 3
While many studies have examined John 3 in the past, linguistic
analysis of the Gospel of John has been limited overall and little
attention has been given to the linguistic factors that create cohesion and prominence in John 3. This passage is particularly
important because many scholars have equated “the kingdom
of God” in John 3:3, 5 with “eternal life” in John 3:36. If such
terms are rightly equated, one would expect cohesive linking
between the first and last sections of John 3 and further would
anticipate finding linguistic factors that make these terms more
prominent. This paper will analyse the cohesion of John 3 using the categories suggested by Stanley E. Porter of personal
reference, verbal aspect, connectives, and information structure,
while carefully considering the linearization of the text and its
implications for cohesion. Following Cynthia Westfall’s criteria
for prominence, John 3 will be examined in terms of its focus,
its markedness, and its grounding. This analysis will also remain
aware of the shifting uses of imagery as an important element of
the discourse.
21-309 Jonathan M. Watt, Geneva College
Hermeneutic Implications of Bilingualism with Reference to Matthew 5:22
“Current research into the bilingual mind explores a variety
of interests that include such internal issues as lexical storage
and semantics, alongside external or situational issues such as
community competence, pragmatic purpose and stylistic intent. Given that most speakers (such as Jesus) and writers (of
the narratives or epistles) connected with the New Testament
were likely to have been multilingual, it is reasonable to consider what today’s research might offer with regard to the text. In
the Gospel of Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus appears to juxtapose an originally-Semitic word (hraka
‘fool’) with an apparently Greek word (mo:re) of similar meaning (5:22)—though scholarly opinions vary as to whether or not
this was the case. This paper will access recent studies on the
influence of bilingualism upon lexical semantics in the bilingual
brain. It will then consider whether those factors, or possibly the
situational features of a public event in a bilingual community,
may clarify whether Jesus himself or the gospel writer was the
source for this particular word usage and, in either case, what
pragmatic purpose it would have accomplished.
21-309 Cynthia Long Westfall, McMaster Divinity College
Authentew: Probing the Lexis Receptus
This paper presents research on the semantic potential of AUTHENTEW in 1 Timothy 2:15.?It will explore its meaning in
terms of context, register and collocation, charting in what situations the verb and its cognates are used, by whom are they used,
what they are used to accomplish, and if there are detectible lexical patterns. The research will be an application of methodology
based on the current linguistic discussion of the theory of lexicography, semantic domains and collocation to a word that has
been a controversial fencing point in New Testament studies.
21-309 Steven E. Runge, Logos Bible Software
Verbal Aspect of the Historical Present
Recent treatments of the historical present have affirmed that
the “historical” usage is better understood on the basis of aspect
rather than on tense. However, in making this claim a number of
issues have been left unresolved. This paper provides an overview
of the traditional and aspectual claims to date, and will propose
a cognitive processing framework that reconciles and unifies the
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apparently conflicting claims regarding the discourse function
of this usage. This paper represents an overview of a larger treatment of the historical present in the Synoptic gospels.
21-309 James Libby, McMaster Divinity College
Greek Word Order Enabled by Computational Linguistics
Word order might rightly be viewed as one of the most tangled
webs that we in New Testament studies have ever managed to
weave. Beyond the storied and well accepted notion that clauses
in the classical dialect begin with a subject and those of the Hellenistic/Koine begin with a predicator—all else seems pastiche.
This state of affairs wouldn’t be quite so troublesome, of course,
if it were not for the broad significance that both traditional
grammarians and modern linguists seem to frequently attach to
word order (e.g. markedness, emphasis/prominence, cohesion,
information flow, topicality, discourse boundaries etc.) In this
study we seek to untangle the word order web a bit by adopting
a methodology informed by principles from general, corpus and
computational linguistics. We will describe and demonstrate
findings of a research design that for the first time simultaneously: 1) incorporates an annotation scheme grounded in modern
(general) linguistics, 2) applies that annotation to every clause
in the GNT, 3) analyzes all possible slot order permutations in
the GNT pivoted against all known relevant selected sub-corpora groupings (e.g. by authorship and genre theories), 4) tests
all word order permutations for statistical significance and 5)
visualizes those pivot (contingency) tables using multivariate
visualization. The interpretation of these results both confirms
and disconfirms some closely held notions regarding word order
in the Greek New Testament.
21-310 Norman K. Gottwald, Pacific School of Religion
Perpetrator and Victim Roles in the Psalms of Lament
The identities of the sufferers and their enemies in the Psalms of
Lament have been long studied with widely varying results. Since
victims and perpretrators alike appear to fit no single category,
a more generic approach to the problem may be productive.
This paper will employ sociological role theory to supplement
the helpful insights so far contributed by other social scientific
methods and by a canonical mode of inquiry. The laments of Job
and Jeremiah will be included in the inquiry in an effort to determine what sorts of social conflict scenarios are presupposed
by the way victims and perpretrators perform in the rituals of
lament.
21-310 LeAnn Snow Flesher, American Baptist Seminary
of the West
Job as a Model for the Dispossessed
Much of the poetry of Job focuses on Job’s declarations of innocence. It is clear from the narratives in Job that Job has been
displaced and is among the dispossessed. In chapter 24 Job’s
speech exhibits solidarity with the innocent poor who are oppressed by the wicked and ignored by God. Job’s complaints
against the wicked who oppress the poor and against God who
seemingly ignores the entire ordeal are timeless. This paper will
seek to outline Job’s argument through rhetorical analysis and
compare it to similar poetic protests that have come from the
oppression(s) of El Salvador over the past century.
21-310 Naama Zahavi-Ely, College of William and Mary
Between Heaven and Earth: Rain and Drought in Biblical Hebrew Poetry
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of rain in the
land of the Bible. The amount and distribution of rain is the
single, crucial difference between a year of plenty and one of
famine. This is crystal-clear to anyone who lives in the land, let
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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alone people who depend on it for a living. In New Orleans, a
storm may be a huge eye of uncontrollable wind and vast, inexorably rising expanses of seawater; in Israel, a storm is the vehicle
of rain, expressing power and blessing together; and flooding is
fast and furious flash torrents, quick to disappear, and leaving
a welcome wetness in their wake. The giving and withholding
of rain is placed in the Hebrew Bible squarely in God’s hands.
It is a primary way for God to bestow blessings, send warnings
by withholding rain, and wash away his people’s foes by flash
floods. Rain’s primacy as God’s blessing and its withholding as
discipline are clear in Deuteronomy 11 and 28 and in I Kings 8,
where we also find prayers as an effective way to come back to
His good graces and be rewarded with rain. Not surprisingly,
we find rain imagery and God the rain-giver all over Biblical
Hebrew poetry. God’s grace may be the rain itself: in Jeremiah 14
we find the people beseeching God for rain in a time of drought.
Rain is also used figuratively, for blessings and divine teachings,
as in Deuteronomy 32. And rain and its relatives—snow, hail,
and dew—are prominent among the wonders of God’s power
in the book of Job and elsewhere. This paper will investigate the
phenomena and imagery of rain, drought, and flash flood, with
a focus on prophetic and wisdom poetry
21-310 Maire Byrne, Milltown Institute of Theology and
Philosophy, Dublin
Torrents of Water in a Dry River Bed: Contradictory Images of
Water in Amos 5:24
Though the images presented in Amos 5:24 of justice and righteousness have become closely allied with a modern quest for
social justice and human rights, their association with water
imagery has not been widely examined. This paper explores
the water motifs present in the verse, and in an attempt to understand the apparent contradiction of a wadi or dry river bed
that suddenly becomes filled with freely moving water, looks at
the verse in the context of other images of water in the book
of Amos. These water images are both of abundance as well as
scarcity and water is seen as constructive and destructive in nature. When modern audiences will naturally have positive and
negative images of the power of water, depending on their geographical and cultural contexts, the paper will analyze how the
themes of justice and righteousness in verse 24 are not to be seen
as either negative or positive gifts, but rather connected with the
mythical power of water.
21-311 Yosef Garfinkel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Khirbet Qeiyafa: A Fortified City in Judah from the Time of King
David
Khirbet Qeiyafa, located 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem, revealed, for the first time in the archaeology of Israel, a fortified
city in Judah from the time of Kind David. This date is based on
radiometric datings of olive pits, not historical considerations
or pottery assemblages. This objective physical method clearly
placed the site in the late 11th century BC or the very beginning
of the 10th century BC. These new results have far reaching implications on many issues. Here we will concentrate on the city
planning. The planning of the site includes a casemate city wall
and belt of houses abutting the casemates and using them as part
of the houses. This is a typical feather of city planning in Judean
cities in the 9th and 8th centuries BC, and is best known in cities like Beersheba, Tell Beit Mirsim, Tell en-Nazbeh and Beth
Shemesh. Khirbet Qeiyafa is the earliest known example of this
concept and indicates that it has been developed already in the
time of King David.
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21-311 Ron E. Tappy, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Tenth Century Tel Zayit: Life in the Liminal Zone
Six seasons of excavation at Tel Zayit, with the application of
tight stratigraphic controls, have clarified the depositional history of this borderland site straddling Judah and Philistia.
Following a substantial occupation during the Late Bronze Age,
no settlement of the site (by Philistines or others) occurred during the Iron Age I period. In the succeeding Iron IIA period
(tenth century), a new town arose (at least on the summit of
the mound) with a design that incorporated a series of rooms
or buildings around the shoulder of the tell. One structure that
dates securely to this period yielded an inscribed stone bearing an archaic alphabetic text (a twenty-two-letter abecedary).
During this phase, the stratigraphic and cultural history of the
site seems to parallel closely that of nearby Lachish (just 7.06
km south-southeast of Tel Zayit), with both sites maintaining
principal cultural affinities with the highlands to the east and
serving as borderland settlements that marked the westernmost
Judahite frontier. Tel Zayit, then, clearly belonged to the liminal
zone between ancient Judah and Philistia and helped to open
Judah’s southwestern frontier already by the mid-tenth century
B.C.E. Its very existence in this area made an important symbolic statement for the cultural core that lay in the highlands
to the east. In the ninth century B.C.E., however, the political
organization of the Shephelah underwent significant changes as
Lachish assumed its premiere place among the Judahite sites in
the region and Tel Zayit fostered increasing connections with
the culture(s) of the coastal plain (Philistia) during the second
half of that period.
21-311 Jeannette Boertien, University of Groningen
Did King Solomon Have the Same Royal Stables and Storehouses
as the Kings of Ebla, Ammon, and Moab?
Tripartite Pillared Buildings (TPB’s) have been identified as bazaars, barracks, stables, warehouses or toll stations from the time
of David, Solomon or Ahab. The discussion often concentrates
on the dating and function of these specific public buildings.
Some scholars attribute this type of architecture to Israelite or
Judahite origins, and the buildings play an important role in the
discussion on the United Monarchy. In his search for ‘Solomon’s
administrative districts of Israel’ as described in I Kings 4:7–19,
Blakely located these buildings along the borders of a united
Israel and Judah “wherever trade routes cross those borders.”
Recent excavations, however, show that the TPB’s are scattered
among the Levant. They have been recently excavated at several
sites in Jordan and have now been unearthed at Ebla in Syria. In
the light of these new finds an economic and a religious function
could be considered. This paper will discuss the origin, dating
and function of these buildings.
21-311 William M. Schniedewind, University of California-Los Angeles
Excavating the Text of 1 Kings 9: In Search of “the Gates of Solomon”
1 Kings 9:15 has been the source of naïve historical reconstruction for the Solomonic period as well as naïve dismissals of the
historicity of Solomon. To be sure, the biblical text has too often
mined —as though looking for treasure— by the past generation
of “biblical” archaeologists and historians, and 1 Kings 9:15 in
particular has been a poster child for the critique of such archaeological treasure hunts. At the same time, the backlash against
Biblical Archaeology that has characterized the few couple of
decades in Levantine Archaeology is often and ironically no less
naïve in its citation of 1 Kings 9:15 and its focus on just the three
cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer and disregarding the larger
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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literary context. This text reflects typical attributes of biblical
historical literature. It is an edited text, but it is also based on
a historical record. Using careful critical methodology, we can
“excavate” the text and peel back the layers. Unfortunately, on
the one hand, biblical scholarship has tended to be rather arbitrary and subjective in its “excavation” methods; and, on the
other hand, archaeologists frequently employ the biblical text in
uncritical ways to support both minimalist and maximalist historical interpretations.
21-311a Alexandra Anne Thompson, University of Cambridge
Danker in His Lexicographic Context
This paper will consider the new Concise Dictionary of Danker
and place it within contemporary currents of lexicography.
21-311a John A. L. Lee, Macquarie University-Sydney
Souter (Pocket Lexicon, rev. House) and Trenchard (Concise
Dictionary)
This paper will offer a review of Trenchard and Souter together,
as the two most recent small lexicons of the New Testament
(apart from Danker’s). It will raise issues for New Testament
scholars regarding lexicography and encourage the questioning
of easy assumptions.
21-311a James K. Aitken, University of Cambridge
Diccionario Griego-Español and the Septuagint
The major lexical project, Diccionario Griego-Español, is providing an indispensable resource for the future and will be
the first major Classical Greek lexicon since Liddell and Scott
(LSJ). It provides more data from Hellenistic and Roman Greek
(post-classical) than LSJ ever did, and re-examines all the available evidence to provide new definitons and new divisions of
the data. It is understandably a major undertaking: the first fascicle, now in a revised edition, was published in 1980, and the
most recent volume, number 6, published in 2002, brings us up
to epsilon. This paper will examine the use of the Septuagint in
this Dictionary, considering its improvements, but recognising
too the limitations in the handling of such difficult material. It
appears that many of the older problems from LSJ can still be
found in this new work.
21-315a Kenneth W. Harl, Tulane University
Coins in the Markets of Cities of the Roman East
In the first three centuries of the Roman Principate, different
imperial, provincial, and city coins circulated in the markets of
eastern cities, and these coins not only are an invaluable source
for economic life, but they also cast light on political, social, and
religious history because of the wealth of their types (images)
and legends (inscriptions). This paper provides not only the state
of current numismatic scholarship, but also the uses and limitations of coins as a source. As official documents, coins must
be interpreted in tandem with other sources, notably literary
sources and documentary texts. For example, in understanding
fiscal and commercial roles of different coinages, it is necessary
to make use of inscriptions of city regulations of market and literary sources on the role of moneychangers. The study of locally
minted coins in tandem with art and with historical, archaeological and epigraphic sources has added considerably to our
understanding of cults, public festivals and games, and political
loyalties of the local elites to the Roman emperor.
21-315a David Hollander, Iowa State University
Perfect Competition in the Late Republic and Early Empire
Economic competition has rarely received the attention it deserves among ancient historians. As long as the ideas of the
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primitivists held sway, this situation was hardly surprising. As
Jean Andreau (2002: 36) noted, “Finley was convinced” that the
ancient economy was not a market economy “and therefore denied that ancient commerce and its evolution could be studied
according to ideas such as competition or the law of supply and
demand.” If, however, the Romans possessed a market economy,
as Peter Temin (2001: 181) has persuasively argued, competition becomes by definition a pivotal issue. In a market economy
scarce resources are rationed by means of prices as buyers and
sellers compete for wealth. Supply and demand, along with the
cost of production, determine these prices. Buyers compete
with each other for goods, bidding up prices. The winners are
those able to purchase the products they need. Sellers compete
with other sellers to produce or deliver goods and services to
consumers. The winners make a profit and the losers go out
of business. What evidence, then, exists for Roman economic
competition? The two basic forms of economic competition are
consumer competition and entrepreneurial rivalry. Consumer
competition or rivalry among buyers is most evident at auctions,
a typical feature of Roman economic life, where everything from
real estate to olives on the tree was sold. Entrepreneurial rivalry,
on the other hand, occurs when producers, merchants or firms
compete with each other for buyers. Examples of Roman entrepreneurial competition, however, are surprisingly hard to
come by. In this paper I will argue that the conditions of “perfect competition” apply to the market for certain agricultural
commodities in the late Republic and early Empire and thereby
limited entrepreneurial rivalry. This conclusion has important
consequences for our understanding of the effects of Roman
euergetism and philanthropy.
21-315a Agnes Choi, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto
If the Shoe Fits: Egyptian Papyri as a Source for the Study of the
Economy of Lower Galilee
The dearth of literary evidence from Lower Galilee that might
shed light not only on its economy during the first-century C.E.,
but also on the economic aspects of Jesus’ words and ministry
has often been lamented. This lack stands in stark contrast with
the wealth of papyrological evidence unearthed in neighboring Egypt. That these papyri contain an unparalleled quantity
of economic data is undisputed. What is disputed is the degree
to which evidence particular to Egypt can be used to contribute
to our knowledge of the economy of the Roman Empire, in general, and the Galilee, in particular.This paper seeks to evaluate
whether and to what extent papyrological evidence can be used
in studies of the first-century C.E. Galilean economy. Further, it
will consider the implications of this body of evidence for reading Jesus’ words on economic issues, paying particular attention
to the parable of the vineyard owner (Matt 20:1–15).
21-315a David F. Graf, University of Miami
The Arabian Incense Trade and the New Testament
Arabia and Arabs punctuate the New Testament narrative only
rarely, but in the most strategic occasions—the birth narrative
of Christ, the ministry of John the Baptist, and the conversion
of Saul of Tarsus. But their underlying importance for understanding the context of early Christianity is rarely addressed
(see B. Schank, NTS 29 [1983] 429–435). Nevertheless, Herod
the Great’s Arab ancestry and intimate relationship to the Nabataean dynasty is familiar from Josephus, and the proximity of
the Nabataean kingdom on the eastern and southern borders of
the Herodian kingdom made contact and, on occasion, conflict
inevitable. These Nabataeans were prominent traders involved
in long distance overland trade in aromatics produced in South
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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41
Arabia. The aromatics were important for religious and burial
rites, and medical or pharmacological applications, which must
have affected the population of Palestine. Evidence for this trade
is primarily literary (Strabo, Pliny, the Periplus Maris Erythraei)
and archaeological; of over 6,000 Nabataean inscriptions, none
refer to this commerce. The trade routes, the interlocking “caravan cities” or exchange network, the identity of the merchants,
and the various tariffs imposed on the traffic are a matter of archaeological guesswork. In addition, a fierce debate exists about
the nature of the trade: was it closely administered and regulated
by the imperial authorities or did the imperial authorities merely
protect the trade for taxation purposes. An attempt will be made
to assess these methodological problems.
21-315b Kristin De Troyer, St. Andrews University
“The Second Year of Darius” and the Relation between 1 Esdras
and Ezra-Nehemiah
By looking closely at all the occurrences of “the second year of
Darius” within the structure of the books, an attempt will be
made to demonstrate that 1 Esdras presupposes a Hebrew-Aramaic Vorlage that is dependent on Ezra-Nehemiah and that the
structure of 1Esdras can be explained on the Hebrew/Aramaic
level of the Vorlage of 1Esdras.
21-315b Kyong-Jin Lee, Yale University
The Wise Courtier and God’s Protective Wall: Finding the Textual
Relationship between 1 Esdras and Ezra-Nehemiah
The physical and metaphorical imagery of rebuilding Jerusalem’s
walls serves to provide theological unity in Ezra and Nehemiah,
according to some biblical commentators. Given that 1 Esdras
parallels texts from Ezra and Nehemiah (as well as Chronicles),
it is curious that the specific visual imagery of the protective wall
shared by Ezra and Nehemiah is absent in 1 Esdras. I suggest
that 1 Esdras does not contain this notion because its author
was simply not familiar with. This paper further argues that 1
Esdras and the Canonical version of Ezra and Nehemiah stem
from a common Vorlage that focused on the rebuilding of the
Temple. The composer of 1 Esdras inherited a tradition which
did not know the Nehemiah Memoir. The author of 1 Esdras inserted into an earlier framework the “Story of the Three Youths”
in which Zerubbabel was the wise courtier who reestablished
the cult in Jerusalem. In the Nehemiah account, the figure of Nehemiah similarly plays the role of sagacious hero in the foreign
court. This paper argues that evidence for a shared Vorlage for
Ezra-Nehemiah and 1 Esdras can be found in the similar roles
of the characters of Nehemiah and Zerubbabel. Additionally, the
theme of God’s steadfast protection of Jerusalem helps to establish the textual parameters of this Vorlage.
21-315b Deirdre Fulton, Pennsylvania State University
University Park
Lower Criticism and Higher Criticism: The Case of 1 Esdras
Textual and literary studies of the differences among the witnesses (MT, LXX, DSS)to various biblical books, such as Exodus,
Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
Daniel, have demonstrated that the chasm between lower criticism (principally textual criticism) and higher criticism (source
criticism, historical redaction criticism, form criticism) is an artificial one. Close scrutiny of the textual variants found in the
manuscripts from Qumran, the Septuagint, and the MT provides insight not only into the growth of biblical texts and their
interpretation in antiquity, but also into their composition and
formation. This paper applies such an approach to 1 Esdras and
its relationships to Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. While 1 Esdras has significant overlap with material in each of these works,
1 Esdras also possesses its own unique material. Our paper will
42
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explore specific text-critical issues in parallel passages, such as 1
Esd 2:23–26//Ezra 4:21–24, 1 Esd 6//Ezra 5, 1 Esd 8:43–44//Ezra
8:16, and 1 Esd 9:2//Neh 8:2. In some cases, 1 Esdras seems to
reflect the oldest text, while in other cases the MT seems to reflect the oldest text. These comparisons suggest multiple stages
of growth in the composition of Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1 Esdras.
21-315b Gary Knoppers, Pennsylvania State University
University Park
First Edsras at Rome
I will briefly summarize and review the four exciting papers
which were presented at the international SBL meeting in Rome
this summer. They were: Adrian Schenker: Priority of 1 Esdras
in Comparison with MT Ezra-Nehemiah; Paul Harvey: First
Esdras: Style and Semantics in Hellenistic Greek Context; Bob
Becking: The Story of the Three Youths and the Composition of
First Esdras; and Zipora Talshir: Ancient Composition Patterns
Mirrored in First Esdras.
21-316 Ryan Carhart, Claremont Graduate University
Mimesis, Identity, and Authority: The Second Sophistic and
Paul’s apologiai in Acts
Reading Acts through the lens of the rhetorical and compositional elements of the Second Sophistic helps to clarify the rhetorical
nature of his construction of the story of Christian origins. Acts,
I will argue, is in many ways crafted out of the imaginary of the
Second Sophistic and takes part in the larger cultural discourse
of identity-politics in the Greek-speaking Eastern portion of the
Roman Empire. To demonstrate this, I will examine the development of the characterization of Paul in Acts through the lens of
this cultural phenomenon. I will generally argue that the author
of Acts inscribes Paul into the role of sophist for the Christian
community, and that this characterization trades on the rising
social eminence of sophists during this period. This construction of Paul as a sophist-like figure is additionally seen in the
way that Acts develops the narrative through Paul’s many apologiai (“defense speeches”), which imitate the Socratic apologiai
and other classical texts. The apologia tradition saw a marked increase within sophistic literature, and I will survey its use in the
writings of Lucian, Dio, and Apuleius, where the apologia was
used as a means of self-promotion and self-justification. Acts
employs the apologia along these same lines as a rhetorical and
literary strategy to present Paul as the symbolic embodiment
of the paideia of the Christian movement, which represents a
strategy to argue for the authoritative identity of the Christian
movement as it negotiates its identity within the hyper-sensitive
identity politics of the Roman Empire.
21-317 Jennifer A. Glancy, University of Richmond
How Typical a Roman Prostitute is Revelation’s “Great Whore”?
(The) John and the Working Girl
John of Revelation famously introduces the woman Babylon as a
porne, a prostitute, and scholars of Revelation have been content
to take him at his word. But would early readers or hearers of
Revelation have tended to see Babylon, based on John’s description of her, as a typical Roman prostitute? The answer we propose
in this paper is that they would not have. The profiles of typical
female sex workers in the Roman world—the kind encountered
in brothels, taverns, back alleys or circuses—ill-match the figure
of Babylon, as close perusal of the recent work of classicists on
Roman prostitution suggests. What Babylon would rather have
evoked for such readers or hearers is more akin to the figure of
Messalina, we suggest, as refracted through the prurient popular
imagination: meretrix Augusta (“imperial whore”), as Juvenal
dubs her, sneaking out of the palace at night to service customer
after customer in a brothel, and returning to the palace reeking
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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of sex but still insatiable, burning with “a woman’s erection.” In
Juvenal and Tacitus—but also in Revelation, we will argue—the
hyperbolic spectacle of a sexualized woman utterly out of control
serves as a trope for imperial autocracy—absolute power exercised to excess, entirely without restraint (as argued for Tacitus’s
Messalina in particular by Sandra Joshel). Yet despotism is not
the only casualty of John’s political cartoon. Its other target is the
woman who is the active subject of sexual desire as opposed to
the passive object of sexual desire—yet another reason why we
might not wish simply to take John at his word when he labels
his most prominent female character a porne.
21-317 Elizabeth W. Goldstein, University of CaliforniaSan Diego
Impurities and Gender in Ezra-Nehemiah
In the opening of her book on gender and Judaism, Helena
Zlotnick writes “In ways that cannot always be traced with great
precision, women, and particularly gentile females have come to
symbolize the forbidden.” (Zlotnick 2002:1) By closely examining
the relationship between gender and impurity in Ezra-Nehemiah, this paper, in part, provides the missing precision Zlotnick
identifies. Jonathan Klawans’s work, Impurity and Sin in Ancient
Judaism (2000) contrasts what he calls “ritual impurity,” a form
of impurity familiar in pre-exilic biblical literature, with “moral impurity,” a separate type of impurity, most familiar in late
pre-exilic, exilic and post-exilic literature. In previous papers,
I have argued that the Hebrew Bible’s shift in emphasis regarding purity language and concepts corresponds directly to an
increasingly negative portrayal of women in biblical literature.
In this paper, I show that the biblical notion of purity undergoes
a significant change in Ezra-Nehemiah. Though they disagree
with each other on several points, Jonathan Klawans and Christine Hayes (2002:24–34) both demonstrate this claim. Next, I
argue that gender is inextricably linked to the reformulation of
the purity system in Ezra-Nehemiah, in contrast to arguments
by Olyan and Hayes. Olyan (2000:82) and Hayes argue that genealogical impurity does not unfairly target women since both
the children of Judean men and foreign women as well as the
children of Judean women and foreign men are genealogically
impure. These arguments, however, overlook two important factors, one social and one literary. First, no ancient social structure
would permit Israelite women to divorce foreign husbands. Second, foreigners are described as causing the land to be filled with
“niddah,” thus feminizing and ostracizing the outsider.
21-317 Shannon M. McAlister, Catholic University of
America
God The Father’s “Vulva” in Patristic and Medieval Thought—
and Its Obscuration in English Translations Today
Patristic and medieval authors interpreted Jewish and Christian
scriptures in a way that allowed them to attribute to God the
“Father” a variety of terms denoting female generation. In the
Latin West, words such as vulva, uterus, conceptus, natus, parturio, and pario were seen as attributes of Deus Pater. For the
theologians of such eras, scripture itself justified a striking linguistic blurring of sex/gender boundaries, as speech attempted
to approach the incorporeal divinity in its fathering of a Son.
Yet while commentators such as Ambrose, Augustine, Anselm,
Bonaventure and Aquinas were not afraid to name the Son’s generation a nativitas or to speak of the Father’s vulva or uterus,
prominent English translations today sometimes shy away from
naming the Father with female terms. For example, to Latin
speakers the “in sinu” of John 1:18 evoked the image of a womb
and was understood to refer to the generative power of God the
Father; but this tradition is obscured when “sinus” is uniformly
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translated as “bosom.” Similarly, words which can denote either
female or male generation—such as gignere, generare, generatio,
and genitus—are often translated by the masculine-specific word
“to beget.” Perhaps more strikingly, words which primarily denote female generation—such as “natus”—are also translated as
“begotten,” thus obscuring the patristic and medieval tradition
which declared that there were “two births” of the Word of God:
an eternal birth from God the Father and a temporal birth from
the Virgin Mary. When female-specific and sex-neutral Latin
words are translated with male-specific vocabulary, readers are
likely to miss the breadth of meaning available in the Latin if
they access these texts only through English translations.
21-317 Jonathan Cahana, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Gnostically Queer: Gender Trouble in Gnosticism
“And when you make male and female into a single one, so that
the male will not be male nor the female be female … then you
will enter [the kingdom].” Gospel of Thomas 22 “[I turned]
inward toward acquaintance [with] the entireties, the Barbelo
aeon, and I beheld the holy powers from the luminaries of the
masculine female virgin Barbelo…” The Foreigner 59 “…And the
females that they call ‘virgins’ are the ones who have never experienced the worldly intercourse of ordinary natural marriage as
far as the reception of sperm goes.” Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion 26.11.10 My paper attempts to delineate and analyze the
queer-like worldview evinced in Gnostic writings. While these
“heretic” early Christians, active already in the 2nd century of
our era, remodeled and retold the creation story vis à vis the
biblical and Platonic accounts, they did this significantly in order to express their own views regarding gender and sexuality.
In turn, this “invented” story of origins has been used by them
in order to explain and account for their queer-like stance over
against mainstream culture. Evidence can be brought as well
to show that this stance has also found its expression in sexual
rituals performed by at least some of them. The mythological
world as presented by those Gnostics comprises two separate
realms: The preexistent pure pleroma, inhabited by many entities which are either genderless, or, more often, ones whose
gender is elusive (e.g., referred to as “she” but designated as the
“thrice male”), and a realm of the rulers (or archons), a result
of a cosmic catastrophe, in which gender is pointedly and repeatedly defined, both regarding gods and regarding humans.
While the Gnostics originally belonged to that heavenly realm,
they are currently trapped (together with the rest of humanity)
in the realm of the rulers, and also, as a consequence, are under
its compulsory process of gendering. Employing Judith Butler’s
notions of gendering, citationality, performativity and subversion, I would raise the possibility that since these people had
no basis in their “past” for the naturalization of heterosexuality—actually, according to them, a result of a heavenly calamity
and a curse of an evil, gendered, masculine god—they had no
“choice” but to do their best to miscite those norms, thus subverting the compulsory process of gendering, in a way similar to
some of the theatrical actions performed today by queer activists. In my paper I intend to discuss a number of choice ancient
Gnostic texts, including The Apocryphon of John, The Gospel of
Thomas, The Gospel of Judas and The Foreigner, as well as some
instances of proto-orthodox polemical writing directed against
those Gnostics, notably the description of their sexual rites in
the Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. Moreover, a preliminary
phenomenological comparison between the gnostic endeavor to
subvert gendering and some modern attempts to do so will be
offered. I hope to show that even though many differences do
exist, there are also important similarities which are both enlightening and troubling.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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21-319 James Constantine Hanges, Miami University
Mirroring the Self into the Other: Negotiating Cult Relocation.
Using the familiar texts, Euripides’ Bacchae and the “Delian
Aretalogy of Sarapis” as comparative objects for re-description,
this paper explores the application of the concepts of group mirroring and mimicry to illuminate the complex interactions that
characterize the encounter between migrating religious communities and the established “native” society. This paper describes
these relocation encounters as processes involving a reciprocal
rhetorical dance of power—instances of Bhabha’s “double inscription,” expressions of the voyeuristic yet ambivalent desire
for the other—between “dominant” and “subordinate” groups in
which both reflect each other using shared categories of value,
mirroring each other by using these shared categories to oppositionally define self and other. The primary texts reveal that
immigrant cults creatively make use of native categories of value:
the immigrant cult fashioning a mirror image of the other in the
defense of cultural hybridity, while the “native” society, sharing
those same categories, re-inscribes them negatively. Both groups
locked in this mirroring embrace simultaneously negotiate their
identity using discursive strategies and motifs that are found to
be already formulaic and stereotypical.
21-319 Luther H. Martin, University of Vermont
Cult Migration, Social Formation, and Cult Identity in GraecoRoman Antiquity: The Curious Case of Roman Mithraism
Given the entropic nature of information in transmission, the
formation and migration of any social group raises the question of their trans-geographical and trans-generational identity.
Especially given the dynamics of dramatically increased commercial, political and social mobility and interchange during the
Hellenistic period, we might question whether any widespread
cult identity during this period had any historical basis beyond
certain superficial features or whether such an identity is the
imaginative construction of modern historians based on those
ostensibly identifying features? The Roman cult of Mithras, the
most widely distributed cult of the Roman imperial period and
the most fulsomely documented, provides an interesting case
study for this question. While this cult does exhibit migratory
degradations, i.e., local and regional variations, it nevertheless
transmitted two of its distinctive features—the common design
of its mithraea and the ubiquitous tauroctonous image—with a
high degree of fidelity. This paper will suggest some cognitive
processes of information transmission and stabilization for how,
without benefit of any centralized jurisdiction or administrative
organization, such identifying features of Mithraism became so
successfully distributed.
21-319 Michele Murray, Bishop’s University
Heading in the “Wrong” Direction? Judaizing Christians and the
Formation of Christian Identity
Traditional (Christian) theological reasoning assumes that
movement of individuals between Judaism and Christianity
occurred in one direction only in antiquity: from Judaism to
Christianity. Evidence from early Christian writings, such as the
Epistle of Barnabas and the letters of Ignatius, and others, suggests otherwise. Indeed, there is evidence that certain Gentile
Christians were attracted to Judaism, and saw no contradiction
between their belief in Jesus as Messiah and their observance of
aspects of the Mosaic Law. The existence of such a phenomenon
reflects the fact that cult identity and social formation in late
antiquity were more fluid—and that boundaries between Judaism and Christianity were more porous—than previously has
been described in scholarship. Using the theoretical framework
provided by Pierre Bourdieu and Michel de Certeau (and oth44
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ers), this paper will explore evidence of this movement in the
“wrong” direction between Judaism and Christianity, and will
discuss how past scholarship has dealt with the phenomenon of
Judaizing within the context of describing Christian religious
history.
21-319 Martin Meiser, Universität des Saarlandes
“In Love with this Present World” (2 Timothy 4:10): Why did
People Abandon their Former Christian Faith?
Movement between cults should not be described one-sidedly
with regard to the conversion from Graeco-Roman cults to
Judaism to Christianity but also with regard to the movement
away from Christianity. Christian authors give by no means objective information but despite of their fear and polemics this
phenomenon can be described in categories of function of religion. Some people were dissatisfied with Christian ability to
interpret human existence; intellectual unpleasantness (Herm
15.1; 75.4; Tertullian, praescr. 7; cf. also Origen, Cels. 3.19) or
doubt (Herm 98.3) or anxiety with regard to the individual fate
(Did 3.4; Herm 43.2) caused them to move to other groups or
cults. For other people the Christian rules of monotheism and
ethics hindered their integration in the Graeco-Roman society
with regard to wealth (IgnSmyrn 6.2; Herm 75.1–3; 97.3) and
honor in society (Herm 75.1–3; cf. e negative Tertullian, idol.
17; Cyprian, ad Donatum 3). These references underline the
probability for abandoning Christian faith especially for parts
of intellectual and economical elites. Did the distinct Christian
authors have strategies to prevent such abandoning beyond the
mere complaining or threatening?
21-319 Heike Omerzu, University of Copenhagen
Christian Identities in Ephesus
This paper addresses the question of cult migration from an inner Christian perspective by maintaining that the idea of distinct
“Pauline” and “Johannine” communities in Ephesus during the
first two centuries CE has to be deeply reconsidered. On the one
hand the introductory questions will therefore be reassessed by
clearly distinguishing between the evidence of the early Christian writings themselves and remarks on their origin by later
church authors. This will reveal that it should at least be doubted
that an influential Pauline “school” existed in Ephesus. On the
other hand the fact that Paul in the only letter he certainly wrote
in the capital of Asia Minor, 1 Corinthians, acknowledges (and
disputes, of course) that “Christian” identity is multifaceted (cf.
1 Cor 1:12) will be taken as a starting point to question that in
Ephesus (and elsewhere) stable Pauline and Johannine “identity markers” were maintained. Instead, the Early Christians are
shown to have had flexible boundaries which allowed for “cult
migration” among different communities.
21-319 Tennyson Wellman, Connecticut College
Turning Myth into History: The Bacchanalia Affair as Regulated
Cult Migration Narrative
This essay will examine the overlaps and divergences between
Livy’s account of the Bacchanalian Affair and the widespread
Hellenic narrative pattern concerning Dionysos’ violent first
arrival in various poleis. By re-placing Livy’s account into a
broader Hellenic imaginaire, the specific variations and divergent outcomes allow us to see ways in which Hellenic narratives
were adapted in the service of constructing a specifically Roman
sense of state authority and intercultural hierarchy. Further, by
thinking of specific cult migration narratives as drawing from,
and subject to, more widely available narrative patterns, we can
begin to examine how political and individual actions vis-à-vis
new cults were constrained and directed.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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21-319a Judith Hadley, Villanova University
What’s in a Name? Some Newly Discovered Bullae and the Book
of Jeremiah
In July of 2005 a bulla (clay seal impression) was discovered in
the City of David excavations, bearing the name Yehukal ben
Shelemyahu ben Shobi. Three years later, in July 2008, and in the
same vicinity, another bulla was discovered, bearing the name
Gedalyahu ben Pashhur. Both of these bullae date to the end
of the 7th/beginning of the 6th cent. BCE. In addition, both of
these names are found in Jeremiah 38:1–6, as two officials of the
city who call for Jeremiah’s death because he is encouraging the
city to surrender to the Babylonians. This paper first discusses
these two bullae, as well as a third one found 25 years previously
in the City of David, bearing the name Gemaryahu ben Shaphan,
a name which also occurs in Jeremiah 36. The excellent state of
preservation of all three of these bullae leaves little doubt that
the readings are correct. Then follows a brief discussion of the
relevant passages in Jeremiah, together with an analysis of the
title “official of the city,” which is found on seal impressions. That
these three bullae were discovered in a controlled archaeological
excavation is of immense importance, since numerous unprovenanced finds from biblical periods especially have been proven
to be forgeries (including the bulla of Berekyahu ben Neriyahu
the scribe). Finally, the paper turns to a discussion of possible
and proposed relationships between the people who bore these
names and the account in the book of Jeremiah.
21-319a Jeremy Smoak, University of California-Los Angeles
Northwest Semitic Amuletic Inscriptions and the Background of
Yahweh as Guardian and Protector in the Biblical Literature
In 1979 two inscribed silver amulets were discovered in a tomb
repository just outside of Jerusalem at Ketef Hinnom. Both
amulets contain citations of the biblical Priestly Blessing along
with several other lines of texts affirming that Yahweh will provide protection against evil. Since the publication of the amulets
scholars have drawn attention to their possible relationship to
later Jewish mezuzot and tefillin. Surprisingly little attention,
however, has been given to their relationship to other Northwest
Semitic inscribed amulets. The following paper compares the
Ketef Hinnom amulets to several Phoenician and Punic amuletic
inscriptions. Such a comparison reveals that the Ketef Hinnom
amulets inscriptions bear certain lexical similarities to the Phoenician and Punic amuletic inscriptions. The lexical similarities
between the inscribed amulets demonstrate that the language of
the Priestly Blessing found on the Ketef Hinnom amulets stands
in relation to a larger body of inscribed imprecations utilized
in apotropaic magic. Moreover, certain lexical similarities can
be found between the amuletic inscriptions and several Psalms
petitioning Yahweh for protection against evil. These similarities
suggest that the image of Yahweh as guardian and protector in
certain biblical texts may have its origin in certain apotropaic
rites such as amuletic magic.
21-319a Roger S. Nam, George Fox University
Feasting at the King’s Table: The Political Economy of the Samaria Ostraca
Whereas recent studies have correctly identified a clan-based
social structure presumed in the place names of the Samaria
Ostraca (Schloen, 2001; Niemann, 2008), the specific economic
ramifications remain largely underdeveloped. An anthropological analysis of the commodities of “aged wine” (Suriano, 2007)
and “fine oil” (Sasson, 1981; Stager, 1985) suggests that the
economic significance of these items is closely tied to complex
social interactions. Specifically, both archaeological and eth●
nographic studies associate such prestige commodities to elite
feasting and ceremonial displays (Brumfiel, 1987, 1989; Sherratt,
1987, 1991, 1995). By recognizing the notions of status and value
within these elite goods, the Samaria Ostraca point to a sociallyembedded economy with elements of both redistribution and
surplus.
21-319a Matthew J. Suriano, University of California,
Santa Barbara
The Politics of Dead Kings: Royal Ancestors and Dynastic Succession in the Book of Kings and the Eshmunazor Sarcophagus
In the narrative history found in the Book of Kings, the end of
an Israelite king’s rule is summed up in a series of stock statements that begin with the poetic idiom for death: “and [the king]
lay with his fathers.” The summary statements revolve around
the problem of royal death and succession, encapsulated in a
brief epilogue that consisted typically of a notice of burial (in the
royal tombs) and the introduction of the successor. The purpose
of this study is to place these epilogues within the socio-political context of death in the ancient Levant. This presentation will
begin by examining the imagery of the formulaic statements
against the background of burial customs in order to understand
their social context. The study will then compare the same imagery with Phoenician royal funerary inscriptions, specifically
the Eshmunazor Sarcophagus, in order to understand their political context. Both analyses will demonstrate that the central
component of the epilogue’s ideology is a concept of ancestral
identity, here expressed through the Hebrew term ‘ab?t (literally, ‘fathers’). The royal ideology found in the epilogues of the
Book of Kings is consistent with the political landscape of the
Levant during the Iron Age, where kingdoms were often labeled
according to the ancestral identity of their ruling dynasty, such
as the ‘House of Omri’ for Israel. The formulaic epilogues certainly serve a literary purpose within the Hebrew Bible, yet they
also reflect the importance of funerary rituals and royal tombs
as means of confronting the political problems posed by a king’s
death and the subsequent act of dynastic succession.
21-319a Itzick Shai , Bar Ilan University
The Tel Burna Archaeological Project: Goals, Methods and Biblical Archaeology Today
Tel Burna (map reference 188050, 615320) is located in the
Judean Shephela, along the northern banks of Wadi Guvrin,
slightly north of Lachish. According to surveys conducted in the
region, it seems that the site was established in the Early Bronze
Age I, and settled intensively in the Late Bronze Age and Iron
Age. Some scholars have identified the site with biblical Libnah,
mentioned several times in the Bible in relation to its location
on the western border of Judah. The archaeological project at
the site will address issues such as borders in antiquity. The location of the site on the border of the Shephelah and the coastal
plain will give us the ability to retrieve relevant data with the
specific purpose of defining the border and understanding the
social, economic and political behavior of border sites ad how
they differ from sites in the heartland. Our presentation will focus on the goals of the project, while noting the relevant Biblical
accounts and the history of research of the site. The main part
of the paper will relate to the survey results and the insights of
these results on the settlement pattern and settlement hierarchy
in the Bronze and Iron Ages in the southwestern Shephelah.
21-321 Naomi Seidman, Graduate Theological Union
Translating Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalyzing Translation
“The return to Freud,” inaugurated by Lacan and Bettelheim,
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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45
has been propelled by the desire to reverse the effects of Freud’s
translation into English and his “assimilation” into the AngloAmerican social sciences. But this “return,” I will argue, has itself
remained unexamined in its reliance on quasi-sacred notions of
the possibility of recovering an “original” text and the inevitable
“fallenness” of translation. This paper will explore “the return to
Freud” as an episode in both translation history and religious
history—as involving textual transmission and canonization,
diaspora and assimilation, contested succession narratives, the
movement from a Jewish “in-group” to a “Gentile” community,
and attempts at “recovery.” I will attempt to replace what I see
as the still-reigning fundamentalist paradigms for understanding the movement of Freud in the world with a more flexible
psychoanalytic theory of Freud’s various “translations,” relying
on Freud’s distinctive use of the terms Übertragung and Übersetzung for a theory of translation that acknowledges difference
and the operations of censorship (as do rabbinic theories of
translation). Finally, I will read a joke Freud analyzes, on the
Baroness von Feilchenfeld’s confinement, as a translation performance both by the Baroness and by Freud, who substituted
an inarticulate grunt for the Yiddish words that appear in other
versions of the joke; I will explore how the joke and its interpretation translate between (without deciding on an “original”)
human-universal positions and Jewish-particularist stances.
21-321 Leonard J. Greenspoon, Creighton University
Sanctioned by the Chief Rabbi: “Authorized” Translations of the
Bible by/for Jews
In the mid-nineteenth century, at least three Anglo-Jewish versions of the Bible carried the “sanction” of the Chief Rabbi of
the British Empire. This seemingly problematical endorsement
or authorization must be viewed horizontally within the cultural
context of its time and also vertically within the ideological context provided by two thousand years of Jewish Bible translation.
This paper will explore key aspects of both contexts in order
to provide the appropriate background for understanding and
evaluating the Chief Rabbi’s action in these instances.
21-321 James Maxey, Lutheran Bible Translators
Performance Criticism and Bible Translation
This paper argues that Biblical Performance Criticism offers
keen insights into issues of media and authority. Such issues
directly affect Bible translation. Bible Translation for the past
several centuries has benefited from various print technologies.
It has only been in recent years that the effects of such a medium
have been discussed openly. Even now, however, these effects are
often neglected and latent assumptions based on the print medium persist. Primary to such assumptions is the notion of the
location of authority within the printed text. Such an assumption shapes the methods and goals of Bible Translation today.
This paper addresses historically this medium bias and suggests
a more complex discussion of authority. Such an understanding permits pursuing translation activities and goals in fresh yet
historic ways. Central to a more complex view of authority is
the audience and the community’s tradition. If the first-century
compositions and presentations of what we know today as the
New Testament depended upon community tradition and authority, how might such knowledge affect the way we go about
translating these compositions for communities today? Biblical
Performance Criticism offers insights into this question.
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21-321 Charles Rix, Drew University
Dancing in the Dust: Sin or Self-protection around the Golden
Calf (Exodus 32:1–6)
The quirky tale of the Hebrew people’s festivities around Golden
Calf (Exod 32:1–6) in the wilderness has traditionally been received as the penultimate account of idolatry. Once delivered
from Egypt, the people quickly fell into idolatry and revelry
when Moses did not return from the mountain as expected.
So grave was their sin that it threatened the covenant between
YHWH and the people and the very existence of the nation. The
interpretation of the people’s character and motives in building the calf-idol has often turned on the interpretation of the
phrase “wayyaqumu lesaheq.” While the verbs technically designate “arise” and “play or laugh,” the TANAK translates it as
“they rose to dance.” Other English translations (NRSV) renders
the phrase “they rose to indulge in revelry,” thus eroticizing and
downgrading the people’s actions around the Golden Calf. However, refracting the actions of the people through the sociology
of dance and play in ancient cultures moves in a much different
direction. I suggest that by reading the story as the people’s festive response to a crisis of abandonment in the wilderness, the
dancing and playing around the Golden Calf represent not the
act of a “people gone wild,” but the actions of a people endeavoring to come together in collective joy which functions both as
a means of self-protection against enemies in the wilderness as
well as a positive response to the trauma of being abandoned in
the wilderness.
21-323 Mark Catlin, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Israel as the Image of Yahweh in Isaiah 40–55
Isaiah 40:18, “To whom then will you compare God? What likeness will you compare him to?” has almost exclusively been
taken to mean that there is nothing in the image or likeness of
God. This interpretation has then governed the way in which the
rest of Isaiah 40–55 is read, specifically with regard to the image
of Yahweh. This way of thinking, however, does not adequately
represent the message of Isaiah 40–55. This paper suggests that
while the text of Isaiah 40–55 does argue that Yahweh cannot
have images made by human hands, it does not argue that Yahweh does not have an image. Yahweh himself has formed an
image with his hands—the people of Israel. The author of Isaiah
40–55 intends to bring Israel forth as the image of Yahweh as
Israel functions in the same way the idols do. Israel is Yahweh’s
image, which—though Yahweh has formed him from the womb
with his hands—has become deaf, dumb, and blind like the idols
of the other gods, made by human hands. Thus, Yahweh looks
just as weak and impotent as the other gods, and his claim to be
the one true God is undermined; his people left hopeless in exile. But through Yahweh’s creative power, he will restore Israel to
display his glory in the sight of all peoples. Then all nations will
bow down to Israel and worship Yahweh through his image proclaiming, “Surely there is no one like you, there is no other God.”
In this way, Israel will function as the idols of the ancient Near
East function for their gods. In order to show this more clearly,
Isaiah also employs the language from the mis pi ceremony to
describe Yahweh’s relationship with Israel.
21-323 Steed Vernyl Davidson, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
Josiah Who? The Isaiah Traditions and King Josiah
The book of Isaiah covers the historical period that includes the
reign of King Josiah yet omits mention of him in any significant
way. The superscription of Isa 1:1 locates the historical context
of the book from Uzziah to Hezekiah. And given the historical
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arc that the book traces, this leaves the impression of Hezekiah
as the last king of Judah, or at least the last successful king of
Judah. The accolades given to Cyrus further highlights this gap.
This paper investigates the relationship of the Isaiah traditions to
the Josianic movement and attempts to offer explanations for the
silent treatment of Josiah in the book of Isaiah. Accepting the
superscription of Isa 1:1 as the work of the final editor, or at least
intentionally left in place by the final editor, the paper asserts
that the Isaiah traditions’ affinity for Hezekiah stems not only
from his piety but also from his successful resistance of the Assyrian attack of 701 BCE, a record that Josiah lacks that in part
accounts for his place within the book of Isaiah. Structurally,
chapters 1–39 foreground the reign of Hezekiah as the model of
piety and righteousness necessary for the survival of Jerusalem.
The remaining chapters of the book foreground YHWH as the
source of righteousness needed for Jerusalem’s restoration and
mission to the world. The brief treatment of the Babylonian period in the book of Isaiah does not indicate the high value that
the Isaiah traditions place upon Babylon. The paper probes the
differences between the Zion traditions of the Isaiah movement
and the Deuteronomic reform movement that supports Josiah,
even though their core loyalties overlap in major ways, as the
source for answers to the question on the lack of a place for Josiah within the book of Isaiah.
21-323 William Frei, Fuller Theological Seminary
The Extended Use of Judges 5 in Hosea 5:8–6:6
Several scholars, especially Anderson and Freedman in their
commentary on Hosea (1980), have identified references to the
Israelite victory song of Judges 5 in Hosea 5:8–10. These references include the war cry “‘hr bnymn” (Jdgs 5:14a; Hos 5:8b)
and a focus on Israel’s tribal identity (Jdgs 5:14–18; Hos 5:9b).
However, a survey of the major works on both Hosea and Judges
reveals that no scholar has explored how this inner-biblical discourse extends beyond Hosea 5:8–10 and throughout the entire
pericope of Hosea 5:8–6:6, which consists of a call to arms and
a warning of the impending destruction of Ephraim and Judah.
The majority of modern commentators analyze the pericope
after 5:10 in terms of its 8th century historical background, its
metaphoric language, and its use of cultic song (6:1–3), without
any reference to Judges 5. However, an analysis of the conventions of the passages in question reveals that, not only does
Hosea refer to Judges 5 in a few isolated instances, but it borrows from it significant elements of a martial victory song. It
uses these elements to create an expectation of a northern victory over Judah (5:8–10), and then to dash these expectations
in order to convey the force of YHWH’s judgment against both
Judah and Ephraim (5:11–6:6). This generic play is especially
evident when one compares the material in Judges and Hosea
according to the elements of a martial victory song outlined by
Alexander Globe in “Literary Unity and Structure in the Song
of Deborah,” JBL (1974): 493–512. Recognizing Hosea’s use of
inner-biblical discourse serves to highlight the importance of
the martial elements in the passage. It is also vital for apprehending the pericope’s unity, message, and original setting in
the northern kingdom during the tumultuous years prior to the
destruction of 722 BCE.
21-323 Johannes Unsok Ro, International Christian University
“Shall not the Judge of All the Earth do Right?”: The Problem of
Yahweh’s Punitive Justice in Genesis 18 and Ezekiel 14: Historical
Development of a Theological Concept
Since in Gen 18:16ff the issue of justice initiated after a catastrophe that Yahweh controlled and executed is handled
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differently than in other Biblical texts, e.g., in the book of Ezekiel
(Ez 14:12–23), it behooves us to examine the historical and other connections between these important theological concepts.
In Genesis 18 Abraham tries to comprehend what value Yahweh
might give the righteous in a fully corrupt place such as might
be the case in the forthcoming fall of Sodom. The main focus in
this text is first to emphasize that in divine justice Yahweh does
not treat the righteous and the wicked in same way while in the
midst of such punitive judgment. However, the weight seems
to be somewhat differently placed in Ez 14:12–23, in which
the author concentrates solely on the problem of whether and
how God’s comprehensive judgment can really treat the righteous and the wicked in different ways. In sharp contrast to that,
in Gen 18:16–23 it is mainly focused on whether and to what
extent the fact that some righteous people inhabit an immoral
society could prevent the divine judgment for all (see v.24–26);
whether Yahweh would forgive the entire society in favor of the
righteous, and suspend punitive destruction. In Gen 18 the righteous pose a special function for a community. What kind of
historical context generated this radical shift in the important
theological concept of judgment of God, punitive or otherwise?
Which one is chronologically earlier? And why? This paper will
focus on these questions.
21-323 J. Todd Hibbard, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
True and False Prophecy: Jeremiah’s Revision of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy offers the only prescriptive texts about prophecy
anywhere in the Pentateuch. It describes false prophets as those
who are either connected in one way or another with deities
other than YHWH or YHWH prophets who speak (i.e., predict)
incorrectly. Neither definition is particularly helpful: the former
because it proscribes something that appears rather obvious, the
latter because it understands prophecy’s function too narrowly.
Several narratives in Jeremiah often attributed to a Deuteronomic redaction of the book take up the second type of false
prophet (one who predicts incorrectly) and complicates Deuteronomy’s simplistic dismissal of these prophets. In particular,
this paper examines Jer 18, 26, 28 and their attempts to redefine
true and false prophecy. It is argued that these three texts in Jeremiah specifically complicate the simplistic notion of predictive
accuracy as the criterion for prophecy. After looking at the way
in which Deut 18 is appropriated by Jer 28, the paper examines
how Jer 26’s invocation of Micah of Moresheth contravenes Deut
18. This is rounded off with an examination of Jer 18, which offers an explanation for why prediction is not the best criterion to
use in evaluating prophets. Rather, as is shown here, Jer 18 and
26 argue that a true prophet is one who prompts repentance.
21-324 Daniel Schowalter, Carthage College
Excavations at Omrit in Galilee and Peter’s Confession at Caesarea Philippi
This paper details excavations of a possible Augusteum at Omrit
in northern Galilee, which is near the area traditionally known
as Caesarea Philippi. The paper raises some questions about the
perciope of Peter’s confession in Mark and Matthew which is set
near Caesarea Philippi.
21-324 James S. McLaren, Australian Catholic University
A Reassessment of Galilean Responses to Roman Rule
The notion that Galilee was a home of ongoing ideological armed
resistance to Roman rule has few advocates today. Yet some of
the glimpses that survive regarding Galilean life from the early
Roman period continue to present us with puzzles. Why did
Varus destroy Sepphoris in 4 BCE? Why is a Judas the Galilean
identified as leading the call to resist the imposition of direct
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Roman taxes? Why was there such ardent resistance to Rome
during the war in places like Jotapata and Tarichaeae? This paper will re-examine some of the key examples of Roman-Jewish
interaction in Galilee in order to consider if any patterns can be
identified, in terms of the way the Romans behaved and for how
the Galileans behaved.
21-324 Carol B. Wilson, Texas Christian University
Food Shortages, Galilee, and Q
Food shortages ocurred in first-century Galilee because of
various factors, both natural and human-made. A range of responses sought to address the resulting hardship. The Galilean
Jewish Gospel, known as Q, offers various strategies for coping
with these shortages.
21-325 Paul N. Anderson, George Fox University
Dialectical History and the Fourth Gospel
Aspects of historicity in the Gospel of John have been displaced
by historical problems besetting the interpreter, not the least
of which include striking differences with the Synoptics and
a highly theological presentation of Jesus as the Christ. While
John’s theological tensions have been addressed dialectically—
providing a way forward, John’s historical tensions have not.
Ironically, this oversight reflects primarily the failure of modern
interpreters to consider the character of historiography as highly
dialectical, in and of itself. This paper will explore several dialectical aspects of history (cognitive-reflective, social-dialogical,
and literary-rhetorical) as core elements of any historiographic
work, and then it will show how a critical analysis of the Fourth
Gospel as dialectical history solves some problems while creating new ones.
21-325 Harold W. Attridge, Yale University
John, History, and Historiography
Many recent discussions of the “historicity” of elements of the
Johannine narrative do not consider the literary framework and
generic conventions within which the Gospel may be operating.
This paper will explore the topic by considering the theoretical
discussion of historiography (Lucian, How to Write History)
and the programmatic statements of authors telling tales of the
past. To find out how this relates to the Fourth Gospel, you will
have to come to the paper.
21-325 Stanley E. Porter, McMaster Divinity College
Criteria for Determining Johannine Historicity
This paper will explore various traditional criteria for authenticity and their applicability to the Gospel of John as well as
suggesting some potential new forms or criteria and ways forward in the discussion.
21-325 Ruben Zimmermann, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Text as History—History as Text: New Models for Consideration
The paper will be exploring new methodologies for considering
historicity—especially with relation to Gospel studies and the
Johannine tradition in particular. For instance the narratological
approaches as well as the memory paradigm will be taken into
account.
21-325 Ann Graham Brock, Iliff School of Theology
Historical Kernels in the Gospel of John: Women and Inclusivity
In numerous ways, the traditionally stark dichotomization of
Matthew, Mark, and Luke over and against the Gospel of John
is not sustainable, especially with respect to the role of women
among the first followers of Jesus. In fact, in some significant
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ways, John actually has more in common with Mark and Matthew than does Luke, and thus may preserve a more authentic
glimpse of Jesus and his followers than the Gospel of Luke has to
offer. Rhetorical criticism, as the primary methodology for this
paper, helps us discern some significant differences among the
gospels with respect to the role of women, the role of Peter, and
the use of authoritative titles.
21-326a Jared Ludlow, Brigham Young University
Has the Widow of Zarephath Been Forgotten? How the Bible Has
Been Used to Encourage LDS Welfare and Humanitarian Aid.
The LDS Church has long-standing programs to assist the needy
both within and without the church. To garner support for
these programs, church leaders have often turned to the Bible
to motivate and inspire adherence to charitable principles. This
paper will examine the use of Biblical passages from the Old
and New Testaments which have been cited and explained by
church leaders as support for the welfare and humanitarian aid
programs. This study will not only highlight which passages are
most commonly used, but also explore how they are interpreted
for contemporary society. To show this, we will examine Conference talks and other official literature of the church from the last
three decades which discuss and cite relevant biblical passages.
Some of these passages may be unconventional for encouraging
aid to the poor, but they underscore the fundamental principles
of the LDS welfare program such as self-reliance. For example,
one of the most commonly cited Old Testament passages is the
encouragement (first given to Adam) to provide for oneself by
the sweat of one’s face (Gen. 3:19). In addition, 1 Timothy 5:8
condemns those who provide not for their own. Other scriptural citations follow the more traditional injunction to do unto
others as Jesus had done—to love one’s neighbor and help one
of the “least of these my brethren” (Matt. 25:40). Through this
examination, it will become evident that the Bible is an integral
part in the development of LDS thought and attitude toward assisting the needy.
21-326a Jennifer Lane, Brigham Young University-Hawaii
Social Justice and Zion: Bridging a Rhetorical Divide
In communicating on the topic of social justice, the rhetorical
divide between Latter-day Saints and other Christians threatens to limit interchange and understanding. Differences in the
resonance and connotation of biblical passages can make others’ messages seem objectionable and can make our message
impenetrable to others. This is unfortunate because there is so
much shared ground. The initial difficulties in promoting this
dialogue can be found in the starting terms of discussion. When
Latter-day Saints describe this society in which there is “no poor
among them” they consistently use the biblical image of Zion.
It is, however, a term that is not simply biblical for LDS speakers because it is deeply informed by Restoration scripture. It is
also important for Latter-day Saints to understand different connotations that the term will have when heard by those of other
faiths. A parallel problem can be found in the different rhetorical
charges carried by the terms “social justice” or “liberation theology.” For those deeply invested in these efforts to change the
conditions of the poor these terms carry tremendous positive
weight. Rauschenbusch described social justice as working to
build the Kingdom of God on earth. For those of this theological tradition the prophetic message of the Old Testament also
has great resonance and speaks to contemporary social problems. Biblical phrases such as Amos 5:24, “let justice roll down
like waters,” carry a great weight of meaning because of the
connections with Christian social activism. I believe that these
theological traditions can reconnect us to the message of social
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justice in the Bible and highlight the importance of social justice
to God (see D & C 38:24–27). If we can bridge the rhetorical gap
we have much to learn, and to share, about God’s demand that
we be one in temporal as well as spiritual things.
21-326a Daniel Belnap, Brigham Young University
“By Your Lovingkindness”: The Concept of Hesed in the Old Testament and Latter-day Scripture
The concept of hesed has long been recognized as one of the
important elements that defined Israel’s relationship with God.
In particular, the association of hesed with Israel’s covenant relationships has been understood to define the ethical nature of
those covenants. Yet hesed goes beyond the parameters of the
covenantal obligations and incorporates the principles of agency
and charity, provides insight into both the mortal nature and the
divine nature, and reveals the expectations of God concerning
man. While these can be found in the Old Testament, if hesed
is that significant of a concept then it should also be found in
later scripture revealed in this dispensation, which may provide
insights not necessarily found the biblical texts. In return, by
recognizing hesed in the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price,
and the Doctrine and Covenants, and their unique insights to
the concept, we can gain an even greater appreciation for the
role of hesed as defined and presented in the bible.
21-326a Kent P. Jackson, Brigham Young University
The Bible and Latter-day Saint Views of War and Peace
In this paper, I will explore the topic of war and peace in Latterday Saint thought and the relationship between current views
and scriptural teachings. I will deal with questions such as the
following: In what ways do current LDS attitudes about war reflect biblical teachings, or the teachings of other LDS scriptures?
To what extent has the Old Testament conquest model influenced the thinking of Latter-day Saints, especially in the United
States? Based on scriptural teachings, how are Latter-day Saints
to conduct themselves in times of war, both as civilians and as
combatants? How do Latter-day Saints conduct themselves in
times of war, both as civilians and as combatants? What do the
experiences of Latter-day Saints in past wars teach us about LDS
religion and culture? How does the LDS Church minister to its
own members who serve in the military?
21-326b Jeremy Hutton, Princeton Theological Seminary
Modern Perspectives on the Levitical Cities Lists and Levitical
Function
Study of the Levitical cities lists in Joshua 21 and 1 Chronicles 6
yields a variety of questions concerning the date and historicity
of the lists, the relationships they may indicate between the Levites and the central authority, and the Levitical function(s) they
may suggest. Although the lists seem to date from a much later
period than they purportedly describe, a pre-Deuteronomic
system of Levitical cities is maintained by some commentators. This paper will survey past scholarship on the cities from
the perspective holding that the cities’ distribution is historical, pre-Deuteronomistic, and inextricably bound to Levitical
social and religious function before these cultic functionaries
were subsumed into the Judahite Temple cultus. I will argue that
any schema purporting to provide a full account of the Levitical
cities lists cannot succeed without understanding them within
the larger social context of Levitical function. In effect, this paper will serve as an inaugural introduction to the “Levites and
Priests in History and Literature” Consultation, and a preface to
the papers of this first session.
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21-326b Diana Edelman, University of Sheffield
Non-‘Priestly’ Roles of the Kohanim in the Hebrew Bible
‘Priest’ is a misleading translation of the term kohen, which
included a range of sub-specialties and was not limited to the
offering of sacrifices on the altar and the manipulation of sacrificial blood. ‘Diviner’ or ‘oracle-giver’ might be a more appropriate
translation; the offering of sacrifices was often an integral part
of larger rituals associated with the determination of the divine
will. I will explore the range of roles that the HB texts suggest
were engaged in by functionaries labelled kohanim: givers of
oracles, omen-interpreters, consulters of Yahweh via the Urim
and Tummim, and dream interpreters. These roles may have
been standard in the monarchic era cult and many would have
continued in the Persian-era cult, and later.
21-326b Stephen L. Cook, Virginia Theological Seminary
Those Stubborn Levites: Overcoming Levitical Disenfranchisement
Preexilic Israelite society developed as a monarchic state out
of an earlier acephalous, segmentary organization. Israel’s new
centralized societal system could not immediately replace its
earlier village system, however, so two social systems coexisted
in tension and conflict for centuries amid the people. In particular, the growth of monarchy could not immediately dissipate
the traditional prestige and authority of rural priestly Levitical family-lines. In their old, village-based organization, these
tribal lines identified with, ministered to, and interpenetrated,
the whole of society, independent of geographic, political, and
economic borders and strictures. As Israelite society regrouped
and entrenched itself as a centralized monarchy, they strove to
preserve a society-wide, village-oriented symbol and value system, but their lifestyle became increasingly outmoded. In the era
of the divided kingdoms, the Levites were forced to perdure in
the face of an ever stronger, centralized organization of society
that increasingly rendered older assumptions and institutions
peripheral, impractical, or irrelevant. Their actions and words
surface in the biblical texts as evidence of activist-traditionalists
working to turn back the clock, defending old ideas and values
with new vigor and imagination.
21-326b Joel S. Baden, Yale University
The Violent Origins of the Levites: Text and Tradition
In four Pentateuchal passages—Genesis 34, Genesis 49:5–7, Exodus 32:25–29, and Deuteronomy 33:8–11—the tribe of Levi is
associated with an act of violence, whether against outsiders or
against their fellow Israelites. These passages are evenly divided
between poetry and prose, and seem to break down into pairs
according to tradition, such that the passages from Genesis belong together, while those from Exodus and Deuteronomy seem
to share certain features. Despite the variations among these
texts, however, it is probable that, for all four, their inclusion
in the Pentateuch is due to the same author: J. This paper will
explore the connections and disconnections among these passages, and will examine the possibility that the author of J based
his prose versions on the poetic traditions he knew and included
in his document.
21-326b Mark A. Christian, Middle Tennessee State University
Middle-Tier Levites and the Plenary Reception of Revelation
Inquiries into the agency of the revelation of biblical law aid
our understanding of the provenance of legal traditions. In Nehemiah 8, Ezra’s proclamation of the law occurs in a central,
urban setting. The event is carefully orchestrated by elites. In
contrast, the revelatory scenes at Sinai/Horeb project a context
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removed from urban life. Here the people play leading roles in
events permeated with unrestrained phenomena and enigmatic
experience. Although orality is a shared dynamic, the desert depictions show traces of revelatory address occurring at different
times and places, and in varying modes. It is noteworthy that
whereas some preexilic traditions in Deuteronomy assert Yhwh
as the sole originator and proclaimer of revelation, others associate middle-tier Levites with the mediation and propagation of
law at regional sanctuaries (Deut 33:8–10).
21-326b Jeffrey Stackert, University of Chicago
The Cultic Status of the Levites in the Temple Scroll: Historical
and Exegetical Considerations
As scholars have long recognized, the complex views of Levitical
cultic status in the Pentateuch continue to develop in Second
Temple Jewish literature. In several texts (e.g., Chronicles, the
Testament of Levi, Aramaic Levi, Jubilees), the status of the Levites vis-à-vis the priests changes and even improves relative to
their rank in pentateuchal Priestly literature. Perhaps no Second
Temple text, however, is more noteworthy on the question of
the relative status of priests and Levites than the Temple Scroll.
By both mediating between biblical Priestly and Deuteronomic
perspectives and innovating beyond them, this text introduces
cultic privileges for the Levites unattested in other Second Temple literature. In this paper, I will attempt to explain the Temple
Scroll authors’ exegetical engagement with their biblical sources
as a basis for their novel presentation of Levitical cultic rights. I
will also posit historical conditions that facilitate the legal innovations introduced with regard to Levitical cultic status.
21-331 Paul Foster, University of Edinburgh
Q and James: A Source Critical Conundrum
This paper provides an overview of the major theories that seek
to account for the similar traditions that exist in Q and James.
First, the nature of the different types of parallels will be analyzed. Secondly, the major critical suggestions which account for
these parallels will be assessed. Thirdly, the paper will discuss
the significance of the existence of such parallel sources of tradition for accessing material which may be traced back to the
historical Jesus.
21-331 Patrick J. Hartin, Gonzaga University
Wholeness in James and the Q Source
The sayings traditions of Jesus of Nazareth lie at the foundation
of the moral exhortations in both the Letter of James are the Q
Source. An examination of both James and Q reveals that they
hold some of the moral exhortations in common. The purpose of
this paper will be to examine these common links with the Jesus
tradition by focusing on their vision of God and its consequence
for action. This study demonstrates that faith in action captures
the vision of James and the Q source. James’s vision embraced
an understanding of works that occurred in the context of one’s
whole life of faith (Jas 1:14) as does the Q Source (Q 6:46–49).
Through an examination of concrete texts this study will further
show that the traditions of Jesus that James and Q transmit are
focused on the Israelite value of wholeness. At the same time a
social-scientific examination of the value of wholeness will demonstrate how this value of wholeness is reflected equally in the
traditions of James and Q. Patterns of all-or-nothing (characteristic of the Israelite value of wholeness) are common to James
and Q. The value of wholeness is what links together the ethical
traditions of Jesus in James and Q. Among some of the examples:
God demands total allegiance; people cannot serve both God
and mammon (Q 16:13). Friendship with the world is enmity
with God (Jas 4:4); the need to keep the whole Law (Q 16:17 and
Jas 2:10), etc. Through this analysis of the moral exhortations in
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James and Q, this paper will illustrate that the Q tradition as it
developed further in the Sermon on the Mount is also reflected
in the Jesus tradition at the heart of James’s ethical teaching. The
common links in the traditions between James and Q are explained from the fact that James is aware of the Jesus tradition as
it is being handed on within the Q community and its developing tradition as seen in the Q Sermon on the Mount.
21-331 Wesley Hiram Wachob, First United Methodist
Church, Pensacola, Florida
The Kingdom is Promised to the Poor
The Epistle of James is an instance of written rhetorical discourse
which appropriates a tradition of Jesus’ sayings in an effort to
modify the social thought and behavior of its addressees. The
focus of this essay is James 2:5, an allusion to a saying of Jesus
that is performed in four other early texts: QMatt 5:3; QLuke
6:20b; Gos. Thom. 54; and Pol. Phil. 2:3. I should like to explore
the links between these five performances of a Jesus-chreia from
a socio-rhetorical perspective: treating of their form, reasoning,
focus, and their rhetorical and theological functions.
21-332 Michael Graves, Wheaton College
Marcella of Rome: Technical Exegesis As an Expression of Rigorous Piety
The interest of women like Marcella in serious biblical exegesis
as seen in Jerome’s letters is remarkable. It is worth considering whether the intense attention given to the Bible by Marcella
interfaces with her position and identity as a woman in fourth
century Rome. This paper will suggest that, when looked at in
detail, the snippets we see of Marcella’s interest in Scripture are
an expression of her rigorous religious inclinations (pursuit of
doctrinal purity, attraction to Montanism, etc.); in fact, intensive
Scripture study was one of the few avenues open to a woman in
her context who wished to go beyond renunciation to constructive piety. The technical Hebrew questions she asks of Jerome
reflect Christian rigor: not only could the study of Hebrew be
used to divert one from impious thoughts, but the detailed nature of her linguistic inquiries mark her as a “hard core” Christian
grammaticus, which fits both her desire to be rigorous in connection with the Bible and her sense of identity as a highborn,
well educated person. Her questions show that she is not content
with superficial answers; her single-minded focus on technical
details frustrated even Jerome at times. This paper hopes to integrate Marcella’s engagement with Scripture into other studies
that have dealt with her personality, social standing, and piety. By
presenting a believable picture of Marcella as a reader of Scripture, I hope to contribute to the question of the genuineness of
Marcella’s questions (cf. B. Conring, M. Vessey). By looking at
Marcella’s exegetical badgering of Jerome—not always to his advantage—I also hope to add something to our understanding of
Marcella’s overall independence from Jerome and possible rift
with him (cf. S. Letsch-Brunner, E. G. Hinson).
21-332 Al Wolters, Redeemer University College
Ann Francis (1738–1800) on the Song of Songs
In her A Poetical Translation of the Song of Songs, from the
original Hebrew, with a Preliminary Discourse, and Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory (London, 1781), Ann Francis
defended a bold new interpretation of the Song. Not only does
she focus on the literal sense of the work, at a time when the
traditional allegorical interpretation was still dominant, but she
argues that it is possible to distinguish two female voices in counterpoint to the male voice of Solomon. The first female voice is
that of the daughter of Pharaoh on the occasion of her wedding to
Solomon. The second female voice is that of Solomon’s unnamed
previous primary wife, who resents her new Gentile rival. Like
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the later and better known Shepherd Hypothesis, which distinguishes two male voices, Francis thus postulates a love triangle
at the heart of the Song. Francis’s translation and commentary is
all the more remarkable for being written by someone who lived
her entire life in an Anglican vicarage, first that of her father, and
then of her husband.
21-332 Elizabeth M. Davis, Regis College, University of
Toronto
“The Lord has Given Me a Learned Tongue (Isaiah 50:4)”: Catherine McAuley Interprets Scripture with Authority and Intention
Catherine McAuley, a nineteenth century Irish Catholic woman
and founder of the religious community of the Sisters of Mercy,
authoritatively interpreted and deliberately used the Bible to
form the Sisters so that they would serve “the poor, the sick and
the ignorant” and bring about social change. McAuley did not
set out to do formal biblical interpretation. However, she used
scriptural citations and allusions and intentionally interpreted
them in letters to and works of guidance for the members of her
community as they moved throughout Ireland and England to
establish new houses and set up schools and services for persons
who were poor, sick, in prison or in need of protection. Immediately after her death, her letters and other writings continued
to guide and motivate the Sisters as they established missions in
Newfoundland, the United States and Australia. A study both of
her writings and of the works of her first community members
dispels the myths that the Bible was foreign to Catholic women
in the early 1800’s and that biblical hermeneutics belonged only
in the academy or the pulpit. The comparison of McAuley’s biblical interpretation with that of three other British women from
the same time period (the Jewish Grace Aquilar, the Anglican
Frances Elizabeth King and the Quaker Mary Anne Schimmelpennick) shows consistent themes of fidelity to each one’s
respective religious tradition and adherence to expectations of
women’s place in church/synagogue and society juxtaposed with
intentional and effective action for the transformation of society
and the emergence of prototypes for present-day biblical hermeneutics.
21-332 Joni Sancken, University of Toronto
Women Like Ourselves: Increasing Nineteenth-century Spheres of
Interpretive Influence
In this paper, I will explore the work of “M.G.,” a nineteenthcentury British woman known only by her initials. Her work,
Women Like Ourselves, survives in print but originally existed
as short addresses given for mother’s meetings or other women’s
gatherings. While Victorian era women were not ordained in
the role of preachers or encouraged to shape congregational
interpretation of Scripture officially, M.G. is an example of a
woman who shaped interpretation through influencing other
women. I hold that analysis of M.G.’s addresses as sermons will
allow her interpretive work to stand in a new light. To that end, I
will briefly explain how M.G.’s addresses might be understood as
sermons. Next, I will evaluate several addresses, exploring M.G.’s
general patterns of 1) biblical interpretation 2) organization and
rhetoric, and 3) her use of “feminine qualities” and women’s
experience. In his essay, “Cultural Studies and Contemporary
Biblical Criticism: Ideological Criticism as Mode of Discourse,”
Fernando F. Segovia brings the many facets of cultural studies
to bear upon biblical interpretation. One of the outcomes of his
approach is a radical equalizing of approaches and readings of
scriptures, which raises the importance of the many interpretative works by those outside the academic establishment found
in popular materials and authorizes non-traditional methodologies for examining these interpretations. Thus, while able to
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exercise authority in certain spheres of life such as the home and
in care of the family, until recently, women like M.G. and their
interpretive work have been underprivileged by the academic
establishment. This paper asserts that studying these interpretations is not only liberating for women today but also sheds light
on the important interpretive work women were doing within
their own sphere of influence, outside the male avenues of ecclesial power.
21-332 Marion Taylor, Wycliffe College
Nineteenth-Century American Women on the Virgin Mary and
the “Woman Question”
The Virgin Mary was a figure of great interest to nineteenthcentury women. They retold her story, lauded her virtues, and
explored her significance, especially as it related to the “Woman
Question.” This paper will discuss the writings of five American
women (Hannah Mather Crocker, Sarah Hale, Harriet Beecher
Stowe, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Elizabeth Cady Stanton) who
used their musings on Mary as platforms for their views on issues related to women. Though similarities can be seen in their
works, their striking differences reflect changing attitudes to
women and distinctive approaches to the Bible.
21-332 Erin Vearncombe, University of Toronto
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and “The Laws of Narrative Expression”
in The Story of Jesus Christ
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps [Ward] (1844–1911), a popular American writer and feminist, penned some fifty-seven volumes of
poetry, fiction and essays and was the first woman to lecture at
Boston University, in 1876. She wrote extensively on the situation and treatment of women, turning such popular romantic
stories such as the Lady of Shalott and Guinevere of Arthurian legend into deromanticized commentaries on women and
poverty and the position of women in marriage. Her many
publications included The Story of Jesus Christ (1897), which
claims to be neither fiction, nor simply non-fiction, but rather
“a narrative,” which “will be received as such by those who understand the laws of narrative expression” (vii). This paper will
focus on Phelps’ unique approach to the study of the person of
Jesus Christ, one which incorporates contemporary Christian
scholarship in the fields of theology, biography, history, sociology and geography, but which explicitly denies a place amongst
any of these fields, claiming for itself its own distinct perspective. Phelps’ claim to be writing narrative, as opposed to fiction,
non-fiction, scholarly analysis or theological reflection, can be
taken as a rhetorical flourish designed to deflect criticism from
the male bastions of those realms of discourse; by claiming to
write narrative, Phelps creates a new space for herself in writing, space she would not have had if she had stayed within those
other modes of discourse whose principles had been laid out exclusively by male scholars.
21-334 Dale Loepp, University of California-Berkeley
Solomon’s Pilgrimage to Gibeon as Rite of Passage in 2 Chronicles 1
In this paper I draw upon the social-scientific work of Victor
Turner and Pierre Bourdieu to highlight how the narrative of
Solomon’s pilgrimage to Gibeon (2 Chronicles 1) can be read
as a multi-leveled rite of passage. Solomon’s journey to Gibeon,
a space that is both liminal and hostile, marks a significant literary shift in the Chronicler’s characterization of Solomon; his
portrayal changes from one that is passive and silent to one
that is wise and courageous, closely following narrative models
of great leaders from Israel’s past. Second, Solomon’s personal
transformation in turn facilitates a significant narrative shift
in the liturgical life of Israel: moving from worship associated
with the tabernacle (itself a symbol of impermanence and lim-
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51
inality) toward exclusive worship in the temple in Jerusalem.
Finally, the Chronicler’s narrative marks the beginning of a shift
in Israel’s self-identity: a nation that is divided by both tribe and
cult becomes a nation united through temple worship. Turner’s
tripartite construal of pilgrimage provides a useful theoretical
framework for reading this narrative. Further, both Turner’s notion of communitas and Bourdieu’s understanding of rites of
passage as the union of antagonistic principles help shed significant light on the discursive aims of the Chronicler in this text.
21-334 Blake Leyerle, University of Notre Dame
Lot’s Wife on the Border
The frontiers of the Holy Land are charged with meaning for
early Christian pilgrims, but one edge commands special attention. This is the border to the southeast posed by the Dead Sea in
general and by the memorial of Lot’s wife in particular. Egeria’s
(381–384 CE) comments on this sight represent a striking break
in narrative tone. They register her profound disappointment
in the fact that the pillar of salt was no longer visible. In compensation, she notes its previous topographical coordinates and
records the authorizing words of the local bishop. This paper
looks at why Lot’s wife generated such interest. We can discover
what was at stake by looking at the writings of other 4th century
Christians, both pilgrims and preachers. The Bordeaux pilgrim
(333 CE), for example, was fascinated by the waters of the Dead
Sea, because of their unusual properties, but shows no interest
in Lot’s wife. This interest was subsequently generated by exegesis. Jerome explores the meaning of this site in his encomium
on Paula, who went on pilgrimage in the 380s, as well as in his
other writings. The meaning of Lot’s wife hinges on the sin of
Sodom. For Jerome, Sodom represented not a particular vice but
the general sinfulness of “the world.” Lot’s wife is a cautionary
figure of (failed) ascetic renunciation, especially appropriate for
virgins. For Jerome’s contemporary, John Chrysostom, however,
Lot’s wife represents the vice of “indifference.” Because she could
not be bothered to heed the angelic warning, the land itself became a warning: in his powerful words, “it screams aloud.” The
importance of Lot’s wife thus lies not in its past reference but
in the way in which it gestures forward, prompting pilgrims “to
remember the future.” It stands on a crucial temporal, as well as
spatial, border.
21-334 Elaine M. Wainwright, University of Auckland
Women making Pilgrimage: Then and Now
Egeria wanted to “see the different places mentioned in the Bible” in order to enable herself presumably and her sisters not on
pilgrimage but reading her accounts “better to picture what happened in these places when you read the holy Books of Moses.”
Today women make pilgrimage [or take Study Tours in the context of theological degrees] to some of those same sites visited
by Egeria but equipped with new perspectives that are feminist,
ecological or ecofeminist and with differing agenda in relation
to place. For each group, place is significant. In this paper, I
will briefly outline some of the current theoretical frameworks
of analysis of pilgrimage [Tomasi, Eade and Sallnow by way
of example] and bring this into dialogue with Edward Casey’s
analysis of place and of journey and their mutual implication.
This will provide me with analytic tools with which to examine
the Jerusalem and Galilean sections of Egeria Travels within the
context of her pilgrimage seeking her understanding of place
and journey. Contemporary biblical scholarship, feminist/ecofeminist reading perspectives and the complexity of modern
pilgrimage and its intersection with tourism mean that women
today making pilgrimage/study tour to those places Egeria visited in Jerusalem and Galilee will experience the relationship of
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mutual implication between journey and place in different ways.
Select biblical passages relevant to the sites Egeria writes about
will be examined to determine how the very complexity associated with contemporary women’s pilgrimage might shape and
be shaped by their understandings of place and journey and the
intersection of the two, especially in relation to the reading of
place in these texts and the implications of gender and ecological analyses for these contemporary pilgrims.
21-335 Columba Stewart, Hill Museum and Manuscript
Library
Digital Resources for the Study of Syriac Manuscripts: The Recent
Work of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, and India
Since 1965, the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (at Saint
John’s University, Collegeville, MN), has been photographing endangered and important manuscript collections throughout the
world. Beginning in 2003, a major initiative has focused on eastern Christian manuscripts in the Middle East, the Caucasus,and
South India. Among the collections digitized (almost 15,000
manuscripts since 2003) have been many consisting primarily of Syriac and Garshuni materials. An international effort is
presently underway for the cataloguing of these manuscripts.
This presentation will offer an overview of the digitization and
cataloguing projects, as well as an introduction to HMML’s electronic catalogue and related digital resources.
21-335 Gaby Abou Samra, Lebanese University (Beirut)
Biblical Syriac Texts in a Fifteenth-Century Maronite Manuscript
This paper offers an examination of New Testament texts (Matthew, Acts, Hebrews) contained in a Maronite manuscript, dated
to 1468. The paper first presents and comments upon the Syriac
texts of the NT materials and their translation into Arabic (Karshuni). It then discusses aspects of the translation from Syriac
into Arabic. Linguistic observations will be joined by comparisons of the textual material to the Peshitta text and other Bible
translations in the Syriac tradition
21-335 Terry C. Falla, University of Melbourne
The Way Our Hearts Burn: Poetics in the Peshitta New Testament
We in the West do not readily identify theologian with poet, theology with poetry. Theology and the poetic have, however, been
partners for a very long time. The Hebrew Bible, for instance,
is soaked in poetry. It flows into the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and even into the Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Slavonic
translations in which they have reached us. Poetics also has a
distinctive place in the Greek New Testament. A poetic form of
theologizing also found a central place in the Syriac Orient. Poetry’s intricate artistry was inseparable from the theological task.
Furthermore, the story of poetry in the classical Syriac tradition
is embedded in the earliest Syriac translations of the Greek New
Testament. The poetic is introduced where it is absent in the
source text and heightened where it is present. This is particularly true of the Peshitta version. At the core of this paper is the
contention that this aspect of the early Syriac versions has not
been taken with sufficient critical seriousness. To do so encounters us with pertinent questions: What is the nature and extent of
poetry and the poetic in these versions, especially in the Peshitta
version? How does one evaluate the poetic when it renders a
basically prose source? Is a methodology devisable? Does this literary vehicle constitute a translational genre? What purpose did
it serve? What impact did it have upon the audiences for which
it was intended? What is its relation to its cultural milieu and to
the great Syriac poets of the period? Is there a connection, for
instance, between the poetic in these translations and “Ephrem’s
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theology ... often called ‘symbolical’ or ‘poetical’ and, as such
...considered to be unequalled in the history of Christianity”
(Kees den Biesen, /Simple and Bold/). What does the conscious
inclusion of a poetic art form in the early Syriac versions tell us
about their theology, “contextual” exegesis, ecclesiology, liturgical intentions, attitude towards “scriptural” source texts, and
about the period which produced them? In summary, can the
study of this poetic dimension help take us closer to the heart
of the historical, cultural and socio-literary forces that were at
work in producing these early translations? And as a result can
they help us examine them afresh as works of serious bilingual
scholarship that sought to weave form, content and function
into an integrated whole? The evidence leads to a “Yes.”
21-335 Ulrike-Rebekka Nieten, Freie Universität Berlin
Biblical Phrases as Sources for Accents in Syriac Recitings
Through the use of biblical phrases Syriac grammarians, starting
from Jåusep ‹½zåjå and continuing at least up to Barhebraeus,
described ways of reciting. These were employed to render the
text understandable to an audience that was not able to read the
Bible. The various ways of reciting were noted as accents. The
Syriac accent-system, which probably influenced the Hebrew
one, had increased so much in complexity that it came to be arranged in a faulty manner. This may have been a reason why the
notation was discontinued. Yet the question remains to be asked:
Has the Syriac accent-system been lost, or is it still part of the
oral tradition?
21-336 Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Princeton Theological
Seminary
Reading for the Subject: Conflict and Lordship in Romans 14
Karl Barth’s famous charge that biblical scholarship neglects the
“subject matter” of the text takes on renewed urgency in current
discussions about the theological interpretation of Scripture. In
conversation with the commentaries of Barth and Jewett, this
paper explores the question of what it means to read “for the
subject.” Romans 14 will serve as a test-case: What is “the subject” and how should it be discussed?
21-336 Richard B. Hays, Duke University
Spirit, Church, Eschatology: The Third Article of the Creed as
Hermeneutical Lens for Reading Romans
This paper will explore the theological consequences of reading Paul’s Letter to the Romans through the hermeneutical
lens of the Christian church’s classical confessional tradition,
as articulated in the Nicene Creed and Apostles’ Creed. This is
not a matter of superimposing foreign dogmatic concepts on a
first-century document, but of exploring whether the theological judgments expressed in the creeds might serve to “correct
our vision” by bringing into focus significant aspects of Romans
that have been relatively neglected in subsequent interpretative
traditions. Reformation traditions focused on reading Romans
in light of “justification by faith” (not mentioned in the creeds).
Recent historical criticism has focused on Paul’s understanding
of the Law and the relation between Jews and Gentiles (also not
mentioned in the creeds). What happens if, instead, we allow the
Trinitarian structure of the creeds to inform our interpretation?
As a test case, the paper will focus on the third article of the
creeds. I will propose that such a reading illuminates important
theological motifs of Romans: the Holy Spirit, the church, and
eschatological hope for resurrection of the body and the life of
the world to come.
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21-336 Michael J. Gorman, Saint Mary’s Seminary and
University
Romans: The First Christian Treatise on Theosis
In a recent book, Inhabiting the Cruciform God: Kenosis, Justification, and Theosis in Paul’s Narrative Soteriology, I have argued
that Paul’s notion of cruciformity is really theoformity or, as the
Christian tradition (especially in the East) has called it, deification, divinization, or theosis: becoming like God. That is, union
with Christ in his death and resurrection is participation in the
very life of God, effecting transformation by the Spirit into Christ
the image of God; the result, Spirit-empowered Christlikeness,
is actually Godlikeness. This paper explores this overall interpretation of Paul by examining the presence of the theosis motif
in Romans, beginning with 8:29. It argues that a central subject
of Romans is in fact theosis, understood as present and future
restoration of the image and glory of God through incorporation into, and conformity to, the Son of God. The prominence of
this motif in Romans reveals that this letter, even in its pastoral
and political particularity, is simultaneously the first extended
Christian treatment of theosis. Because theosis is sometimes
misunderstood as a private spiritual experience, this paper will
demonstrate the communal and cruciform character of theosis
as its practical implications are developed by Paul in chapters
9–11 and then 12–15, implications with ongoing significance for
theological interpreters.
21-337 Theodore J. Lewis, Johns Hopkins University
‘Athtartu’s Incantations
The Ugaritic goddess ‘Athtartu (Astarte) is at the center of two
well-known problems of translation, one from a twice-used curse
(KTU 1.16.6.54–57; KTU 1.2.1.7–8), the other from a speech the
goddess makes when Ba’lu is battling Yammu (KTU 1.2.IV.28).
The first problem has to do with the meaning of the goddess’s
cryptic name “‘Athtartu-šm-Ba’lu” that, in Pardee’s words, “has
exercised the imagination of the commentators but for which
no universally accepted explanation has been discovered.” The
second problem wrestles with why ‘Athtartu “rebukes” Ba’lu in
the Ba’lu Cycle. At this stage in the battle, Ba’lu has gained the
upper hand and if anything deserves cheering on, not rebuking
and especially not from ‘Athtartu. This paper proposes a common solution to both problems. We propose that ‘Athtartu is
wielding effective words, that is, words (usually used in rituals)
that were thought to carry actual power and used by gods and
humans alike (e.g. curses, incantations, imprecations, exorcistic
formula, sympathetic magic, spells, and execrations texts). We
suggest for the second problem that ‘Athtartu is using effective
words against Yammu, not Ba’lu. In our opinion, line 28 (bšm
tg’rm ‘ttrt) does not begin a new subject. Rather, it is an integral part to the continuing narrative. The battle between the two
champions is still engaged with Ba’lu about to finish Yammu off.
Just then ‘Athtartu joins Ba’lu’s efforts with a ritual curse against
Yammu. By joining Ba’lu in the battle, her subsequent words
(“For Prince [Yammu] is our captive, [for] Judge River is our
captive”) become literally true. Key to this new interpretation
is the meaning of the verb g’r that will be explored in depth in
Ugaritic and cognate languages. We conclude that this verb can
be used to designate a deity’s effective power against his enemies via the use of language. ‘Athtartu’s use of effective words
against Yammu fits the immediate context extremely well where
Kotharu-wa-Hasisu has already presented weapons to Ba’lu that
were rendered effective by incantations.The paper then returns
to the first problem and suggests that the goddess’s title ‘Athtartu-Name-of-Ba’lu may have to do with how the name of a deity
could be wielded as effectual power within incantations.
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21-337 Lauren K. McCormick, Duke University
Ba’al’s Guiding Light: Shapsh and Magic in the Ba’al Cycle and
Other Texts
The Ugaritic sun goddess Shapsh has primarily been characterized as messenger. This project will: 1) work to problematize that
widely held conception for the Ba’al Cycle, and 2) suggest new
features of Shapsh’s character by demonstrating her intimate
relation to magic—in the Ba’al Cycle and possibly KTU 1.161,
1.100, and 1.107 as well. An important part of the Ba’al Cycle is
the commissioning-of and instruction-to messengers; the text
explicitly specifies what should be said when one figure speaks
on behalf of another. Shapsh, however, breaks this precedent
when she references El in her larger moves to deter Athtar and
Mot from pursuing kingship (CAT 1.2 III 17–18 and KTU 1.6 VI
26–29). With these interjections Shapsh portends to be relaying
the message of El without ever being sanctioned by him to do
so. Her words go unqualified by the source who was supposed
to have originally spoken them, and yet are entirely effective. I
will suggest that the authority behind Shapsh’s statements came
not from El, but from her abounding capacity as spell-caster.
Shapsh’s discouragement of Mot from duplicating tactics that
clearly worked for Ba’al when he sought kingship is a peculiar
development in the Ba’al Cycle. Another tension comes from
Athirat’s disdain and yet support of Ba’al as king. The ways in
which magic enabled a deconstruction of the myth’s previously
set norms will be explored, and will lead to an acknowledgement
that Shapsh undergirded any success that Ba’al had in his epic.
Lastly, Shapsh’s semiotic relationship with Mot will be treated
as a crucial facet of her power, and KTU 1.161, 1.100, and 1.107
will be brought in to evaluate whether or not my magically-informed understanding of Shapsh holds across texts. I will also
entertain the conjectural possibility that Shapsh related to El as
secondary wife.
21-337 Paul Penley, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Calming Storms, Exorcising Demons, and Drowning Pigs: Challenging the Powers of Baal, Yam, and Mot
Jesus’ calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee challenges the
regional myths that Baal ruled over the waters above and below. However, a further comparison between Elijah’s encounter
with the 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18 and Jesus’ encounter
with the demoniac in Mark 5:1–20 demonstrates the prospects
of a continued investigation into the polemical nature of that
episode as well. The demoniac and the prophets cry out loudly
while gashing themselves in similar ways suggesting a common
link to Baal worship (cf. also the Baal worship of the Israelites
“who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places”
[Isa 65:3–4] like the demoniac). In mythical perspective Baal
had defeated Yam and earned his supreme reign over the waters
above and below (cf. KTU 1.2). He had fought with Mot and in
a sense both died and came out alive (KTU 1.4–1.5). His perceived control over the rainstorm had been embodied in cyclical
tales that explained the dry season when he was away and the
rainy season when he was present. In these stories one notices
that Baal’s servants include “eight pigs” (KTU 1.5 iv 8–9; v 6–12).
These pigs were used in sacrificial worship as an offering and a
meal—a practice condemned in Isa 65:4. It is worth asking if
Jesus is launching a strike against Baal by destroying the animals
that honor him? And what shall we make of Baal’s pigs drowning in the waters of Yam, his supposedly defeated foe? The very
exorcism of the demons has similar polemical overtones when
read in light of exorcism formulas relying on the “spirit of Baal”
(cf. KTU 1.169 1–4). If these linguistic, conceptual, and ritualistic connections portray a relevant backdrop for reading Mark
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4:35–5:20, then Mark has Jesus taking over Baal’s place, questioning his power, and hindering his worship.
21-337 Wayne T. Pitard, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
The Akkadian “Window in the Temple of Baal” Text
RS 94.2953, a fourteen line Akkadian text found in the House of
Urtenu in 1994 and published in 2007, provides the only example from Ugarit so far of an actual account of temple renovation.
Because the focus of the text is the insertion of a window into a
structure that is almost certainly a temple, scholars have related
it closely to the story of the window in Baal’s palace in KTU 1.4.
This paper will look at the text in some detail and argue that
there is no particular reason to relate the text to the Baal Cycle.
21-337 Mark S. Smith, New York University
Warrior Culture in Ugaritic Literature
Warriors are central in the text of Aqhat, and Baal Cycle represents the major, divine protagonists as warriors. Divine warriors
also significant in a number of other texts (e.g., “El’s marzeah,”
KTU 1.114). This presentation will explore the centrality of warrior culture in these texts. Some implications for studying early
Israelite literature will be suggested.
21-338 Judith H. Newman, Emmanuel College, University
of Toronto
Liturgical Imagination in the Composition of Ben Sira
Ben Sira participates in a recognizable way in the pre-exilic
wisdom genre, yet it reconfigures that genre in its use of prayer
and hymnic language which punctuates its proverbial discourse
throughout. Moreover, the book reflects a textualized notion of
wisdom drawing as well on the language of temple ritual. Preexilic Israelite wisdom traditions rely on human reflection on
the natural world and social relations as the source of wisdom.
By contrast, a soliloquy of praise set in the mouth of the personified wisdom figure (Ben Sira 24) identifies the font of wisdom
as the divine sanctuary and the speech as a whole is identified
as the book of the covenant, the torah of Moses. In this way,
wisdom speech itself becomes identified as prophecy. The final
chapters of the book likewise point to the sanctuary. The composition and oral transmission of wisdom discourse by the pious
prophetic sage thus occurs through the reconception of temple
and prayer reflected in the book itself (Ben Sira 38:34b-39:11).
By reassessing both the book’s prayers and its temple discourse,
this essay will argue that the role of high priest in the temple
as center of the polity is ultimately trumped by the role of the
inspired prophetic sage as himself the performative medium of
divine instruction which includes his own book. The ultimate
(variant) shapes of the book whether in Hebrew, Greek, or
Syriac thus represent the extension of such scripturalized sapiential prayer discourse that is part of the liturgical temper of the
Greco-Roman era.
21-338 Rodney A. Werline, Barton College
Ritual Performance in the Parables of 1 Enoch
The Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71) contain complex visionary ascent scenes that combine earlier Enochic images and
themes with other authoritative traditions from the author’s
habitus. The wisdom revealed in these visions aide the righteous in their present struggles and in their future salvation at
the eschaton, and it also sociologically demarcates them from
their contemporaries. The visionary, however, does not pass
this knowledge on to the audience as a collection of theological propositions or a discursive presentation about God’s future
actions and the fate of the cosmos. Rather, Enoch describes action in heaven that is filled with ritual and allusions to ritual,
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including angelic intercessory prayers, blessings, curses, praises,
confessions of sins, petitionary prayers, oaths, judgment, and
enthronement. The revelation is not an argument given to the
visionary; it is performed. While ritual can serve a multitude of
purposes, the heavenly rituals in the Parables especially exhibit
the author’s concern for maintenance of an orderly universe
by various beings properly fulfilling their roles. Further, ritual
performance in the Parables sometimes marks, establishes or
enacts the arrival of new movements in the divine (and historical) drama. Especially intriguing is the author’s notion that a
correspondence exists between the heavenly actors and what
humans do, whether righteous or wicked. The ritual action of
righteous humans fits within the divine (“social”) order of the
cosmos, while the wicked (especially the kings and the mighty)
violate that order, partly in their failure to participate in correct
ritual action, which is an affront to the authority of the Lord of
Spirits. In this way, human actors seem to embody and perform
divine realities/actions. Ritual theorists such as Pierre Bourdieu,
Victor Turner, and Roy Rappaport provide valuable insight for
such assessments of ritual performance.
21-338 Ellen B. Aitken, McGill University
The Poetics of Inheritance: The Composition of a Wise Memory
in the Epistle of Barnabas
The Epistle of Barnabas engages in extensive practices of scriptural interpretation, juxtaposing psalm texts, prophetic oracles,
and the foundational narrative of Israel’s inheritance of the land
of promise in order to “remember” Jesus’ passion and to locate
its audience as the heirs of the covenant. The inscribed audience is said to possess knowledge of the past, wisdom for the
present, and understanding for the future (5.3). This paper inquires into the poetics of Barnabas in order to understand how
its producers and users practiced the composition of “wisdom”
in relation to an apocalyptically delineated present. That is, how
does Barnabas train an audience not only in the “wise” reading
of the scriptures of Israel but also for the composition and performance of a scriptural memory that locates them, by virtue of
Jesus’ passion, in the here and now as the inheritors of the covenantal promises? Attending to the poetics of composition and
ritual performance in the text provides a point of entry into the
modes of composition, performance, and transmission among a
non-elite group of scriptural practitioners in the western Syrian
context.
21-339 Samuel L. Adams, Union Theological Seminary and
Presbyterian School of Christian Education
The Social Background for the Condemnation of Surety in Proverbs
The book of Proverbs is noteworthy for condemning the practice
of standing surety. Individual sayings warn against underwriting the loan of a stranger (6:1–5; 11:15; 20:16) or someone in
the community (17:18). This paper will carefully examine the
passages containing this advice, comparing the use of ‘rb (“to
stand surety”) in Proverbs with other occurrences of the root
in the Hebrew Bible and outside of it. The proverbial clusters in
which these warnings appear will receive attention in order to
determine if the advice against standing surety is qualified by
proximate sayings. The caution in Proverbs will be read against
narrative accounts in which the practice seems to be more acceptable. This paper will then compare the prohibition against
surety in Proverbs with later advice found in Ben Sira (29:14–20)
and 4QInstruction (several passages); this practice is encouraged
with qualifications in the former text and discouraged in the latter. When evaluating all of these texts, it becomes clear that the
uniform disapproval of surety in Proverbs reflects the pragmatic
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approach that so often marks this anthology, especially the acute
concern with self-preservation and financial independence. The
compilers of Proverbs seek to inculcate wariness about profitseeking with strangers, but also with acquaintances (17:18). In
searching for the social background for this advice, such content
suggests that the audience for these sayings had sufficient material assets to engage in speculative lending and that the practice
was widespread enough to warrant repeated admonitions. This
would be most likely after the exile, especially since the discussion is later joined by both affluent voices (Ben Sira) and those
in more desperate circumstances (4QInstruction).
21-339 Knut M. Heim, The Methodist Church, The Queen’s
Foundation
Proverbs 26:1–12: A Hermeneutics of Proverb Reception and a
Case Study in Proverb Performance Response
Proverbs 26:1–12, with eleven verses about the fool, constitute
the longest sequence of verses on the same topic in Proverbs. Six
of these are “variant repetitions,” repeated elsewhere in altered
form. Moreover, they all appear together: 26:1b is repeated in
26:8b, 26:4a in 26:5a and 26:7b in 26:9b. This points to a deliberate editorial strategy. The paper will apply three methodological
steps: (1) an analysis of parallelism in the six variants; (2) a study
of similarities and differences between the repeated verses; (3) an
investigation of the impact they have on 26:1–12 as a whole. This
leads to the following conclusions: The wider context explains
what it means to “honor” a fool (vv. 1b and 8b). In particular,
a fool is honored when he is employed (“hired,” v. 10b) and
entrusted with important tasks (“messenger,” v. 6b) and when
he succeeds to influence others through traditional wisdom
(“proverb,” vv. 7b and 9b). The wider context thus clarifies under
what circumstances it is advisable to “answer” (v. 5a) or “not to
answer” (v. 4a) a fool. When the fool’s proverb is harmless (=
dangles from his mouth like a disabled person’s legs hang limp,
v. 7b), it can be ignored (v. 4b). When the fool’s proverb is dangerous (“like a thorn in the hand of a drunkard,” v. 9b), a more
aggressive response is required (v. 5a). The section as a whole,
then, provides two things: (i) a crash course in the hermeneutics
of proverb reception, the skills that are necessary for discerning the validity and applicability of proverbs; (b) a case study in
proverb performance response, the correct strategies for dealing
with inappropriate or abusive proverbs.
21-339 Eric S. Fredrickson, Westminster Seminary—California
Honor, Shame, and Embers
Interpreters have long stumbled over Prov 25:21–22, particularly the metaphor of embers on the head of an enemy (v. 22a).
This paper proposes that there are two neglected avenues in the
interpretation of this passage. Positively, recent discussions of
honor and shame have highlighted cultural dynamics which
may shed further light on the proverb. Negatively, an apt parallel
for the image of embers on the head has been neglected. When
both of these avenues are pursued, a new interpretation emerges
that uses emic wisdom categories in such a way that the original
sages could have assimilated the proverb without dissonance.
21-339 Christine Roy Yoder, Columbia Theological Seminary
“Watch Daily at My Gates”: The Shaping of Erotic Desire in
Proverbs 1–9
History abounds with portraits of erotic desire as dangerous
coupled with efforts to control and repress it. Some philosophers and theologians would eliminate desire, particularly erotic
desire, at least as part of an ethical life. So it is striking that Proverbs 1–9, the hermeneutical key to a book that aims to teach
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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wisdom and form “fearers of the LORD” (e.g., 1:2, 7), engages
erotic desire as a vital element of the moral life. The chapters
place an “extraordinary emphasis” on erotic desire—an emphasis “out of all proportion” with treatment of the topic elsewhere
in the book (so R. Murphy, “Wisdom and Eros in Proverbs 1–9,”
CBQ 50 [1988]: 600)—not with the hope of repressing or eliminating it, but rather of cultivating and pointing the youth’s desire
toward the “right” objects. This paper considers how the parent
of Proverbs 1–9 understands erotic desire (as about sex and as a
potent metaphor for how one learns) and characterizes that desire rightly and wrongly directed. By desiring “right” objects, the
wise gain knowledge and flourish; they become interdependent
with God, wisdom, and others. Conversely, the fool’s misplaced
desires result in isolation and alienation from others, and spark
violence and rage in the community. Finally, I reflect briefly on
some implications of desire so conceived for thinking about
moral formation.
21-339 Sung Jin Kim, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Ethical Teaching of Proverbs: Friendship as a Cornerstone of
Relational Ethics
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the ethical teaching of
Proverbs. I will focus primarily on relational ethics in the context of family and community. The book of Proverbs teaches
about proper lifestyles in the context of intimate relationships
(i.e. marital unions) and communal associations (i.e. colleagues,
neighbors, and business partners). Hence, the ethical teaching of Proverbs is relational. In this study, I utilize “friendship”
as a ruling principle by which relational ethics is regulated. In
Proverbs, “friendship” often pertains to human relationships.
These relationships range from distant associates to soul friends
(e.g. mates). To that end, this study aims to explore proverbial
teaching on various human relationships through in depth examination of the friendship passages in Proverbs.
21-339 Bernd U. Schipper, University of Oldenburg
Proverbs 2 and its Function in the Collection Proverbs 1–9
The paper deals with the literary function of Prov 2 in the first
collection of the Book of Proverbs, chapter 1–9. By analysing
the keywords and connections between the single chapters, the
thesis will be developed that Prov 2 is a late addition to the first
collection, giving a specific approach which focuses the relationsship between Wisdom and Torah.
22-103a Uzi Leibner, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Synagogue and Surroundings in Khirbet Wadi Hamam: Three
Seasons of Excavation (2007–2009)
Three seasons of excavation have been conducted to date at Khirbet Wadi Hamam in the Eastern Lower Galilee. The main goals
of the project are (1) to try and shed new light on the highly
debated issue of the dating of the ‘Galilean Synagogues’; and (2)
to examine the synagogue in the context of its settlement—its
location in the village, in the history of the village, and against
the background of village life. The excavations of residential and
industrial areas in the village have revealed some interesting
and even surprising findings. In one of the areas a massive destruction layer (fire and collapse) was exposed. The rich findings
included pottery, glass, metal, and stone vessels; weapons; and
a hoard of coins from the reign of Hadrian from the second or
third decade of the second century CE. This of course raises the
possibility of a connection to the Bar Kokhba revolt. The excavation of the synagogue has revealed an almost square building
with rich architectural elements. In addition, segments of a
unique mosaic floor were exposed. The segments uncovered to
date include inscriptions, geometric decorations, and figurative
scenes. It seems that this is one of the earliest, if not THE earliest,
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figurative mosaic discovered in a synagogue to date. The scenes
exposed do not have any parallels either in early synagogue art
or even generally in the Roman-Byzantine art of Palestine. The
paper will present the main findings of the excavations and will
discuss issues of stratigraphy and dating.
22-103a Michele Daviau, Wilfrid Laurier University
Gods and Worshippers: Evidence for Phoenician Influence on
Religious Sites in Moab, Edom, and Southern Judah
Survey and excavation at Wadi ath-Thamad Site WT-13 between
1996 and 2003 identified a simple structure alone on a hilltop
in central Moab. The finds within the structure include ceramic statues, figurines, architectural models, jewellery, miniature
ceramic vessels, exotic shells and fossils, all dating to the Iron
Age II and contemporary with the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The nature of the finds reveals wide cultural diversity with
heavy Phoenician influence. This paper will describe the results
of our excavations and explore the influence of the Phoenicians on the religious iconography and practice at WT-13 and
at sites in southern Judah. The evidence for the eastern extent of
Phoenician cultural expansion may contribute to a better understanding of the function of these Levantine sites in their broader
social and cultural setting.
22-103a Carl E. Savage, Drew University
Southern Lights: Oil Lamp Transition at Bethsaida and Its Galilee/Jerusalem Connotations
Herodian oil lamps account for nearly all of the oil lamps found
at Bethsaida dating to the first century CE. In fact they account
for the majority of all lamps at any northern Jewish site during
this time period. But beyond now certainly being identified as a
type of ethnic marker, these lamps have recently been rigorously
analyzed by petrographic thin-section and neutron activation
analysis which has determined that this type of lamp originates
in the Jerusalem area. This means that inhabitants of Gamla (132
km), Jotapata (116km), Sepphoris (107 km) and Bethaida (135
km), chose to obtain their lamps not from the production of local materials but from importation from Jerusalem. This is made
even more curious because we know that they looked to local
manufacture for common ware, for example, Kfar Hannaniyah
ware. So they were capable of creating lamps from a Herodian
design from local sources but chose not to do so. This paper
seeks to add the data from the Bethsaida Excavations project
to the conversation about the meaning of the distinct linkage
between the Jerusalem-made Herodian oil lamp and Galilean
Jewish sites. Their numbers and dominance in the material corpus reflects something more than pilgrim souvenirs from temple
festivals, but what may that something more be?
22-104 Eleanor Winsor Leach, Indiana University Bloomington
Rhetorical ‘Inventio’ and the Expectations of Roman Continuous
Narrative Painting
Third Style mythological painting achieves a subtle integration
of style and thematic complexity previously unknown. Its pinacothecae are distinguished by a novel form of subject painting,
continuous narrative. WIth an emphasis on plotline, this manner of treating myths employs recurrent images of one or more
principal figures to adumbrate a sequence of actions. Although
certain standard patterns can be recognized, e.g. Diana and Acteon, many features of the indivudal compositions are unique.
These panels use picturesque dolmens, caverns or monuments
as the stories require. The new departure in landscape painting
involving vegetation and shrines as focal centers for the action
closely parallels the sacral-idyllic painting that was contemporaneously popular and demands similar skills and techniques.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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22-105 Jean-Marie Durand, Collège de France
Mari and the Bible
This paper explores connections between some texts in the Pentateuch and the texts of Mari(for instance Lea, Rachel and Laban
and the worship of Sin, leviticus 12 and the prohibition for the
queen to enter the palace, etc.). It will not be argued that there is
a direct dependacy between Mari and the Bible. The paper will
defend the idea of structural analogies which may allow us to get
a better insight into the mental world of the Ancien Near East
and the Bible.
22-105 David P. Wright, Brandeis University
Intertextuality in the Laws of Hammurabi, the Covenant Code,
and Deuteronomy and the Date of the Covenant Code
This paper assumes the conclusion that the Covenant Code
(CC) is dependent on the Laws of Hammurabi (LH) as a major literary source and model. The evidence for this conclusion
is detailed in my recent book: Inventing God’s Law: How the
Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi (Oxford UP). While this book argues that this use of LH
took place in the Neo-Assyrian period close to 700 BCE, some
who have recently recognized a literary connection between the
two texts have suggested that the exile is a more likely time for
CC’s dependence on LH, based on a perceived lack of Israelite/Judean scribal abilities in the pre-exilic period, the perceived
lack of abilities in this period specifically in Akkadian, and/or
CC’s presumed use of Deuteronomy also as a source. This paper reviews the intertextual relationship between CC, LH, and
Deuteronomy to show that the use of LH must have occurred
in the Neo-Assyrian period. The common laws and motifs in
these three texts (e.g., divine name and the cult, debt-slavery,
homicide, talion, impoverished classes) and the nature of CC’s
composition can only be explained by a linear development of
LH to CC to Deuteronomy, not Deuteronomy and LH together
in the exile as sources for CC. The paper thus provides a logical
argument that affects our assessment of scribal capacities, primarily in Judah, at the end of the eighth and into the seventh
centuries BCE.
22-105 Ann K. Guinan, University of Pennsylvania
Divination for Fun or Prophet
Divinatory systems have long and stable lines of transmission.
They cross cultural boundaries with ease, adapting to new
cultural settings while retaining their formal properties. Mesopotamian omen compendia survive the end of Mesopotamian
civilization spreading both west and east. Latin, Arabic, and
Sanskrit omen literature, for example, have elements that can
be traced directly back to Mesopotamian sources. Divination
based on esoteric systems of knowledge, such as astrology, tarot,
I-ching, and cowrie shell divination have ancient, unbroken traditions and remain living practices. Cultural attempts to prevent
or discredit are remarkably unsuccessful. Modern denigration
of divination as superstition and the biblical prohibition against
divination as foreign practice are the exception rather than the
norm. Whether practiced for fun or prophet, the manner in
which different forms of divination encounter cultural barriers
and adapt, transform, and endure is theoretically significant and
the subject of this paper.
22-105 Jeffrey L. Cooley, Xavier University
The Story of Saul’s Election (1 Samuel 9–10) in Light of Mantic
Practice in Ancient Iraq and the Classical World
It has long been assumed that within the story of Saul’s divine
election as king there are at least two, and possibly three different mantic events indicating Yahweh’s selection of Saul as
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Israel’s leader: 1 Sam 9:15–17; 10:17–21; 10:21–24. While there
has been significant debate regarding the division of the text and
nature of its sources, little has been done to explain why the final
redactor knitted together these multiple divinatory acts into a
single narrative with little concern for the obvious duplication.
In this paper, I suggest that the redactor considered the multiple
instances of divination to be confirmation, verifying the divine
will (perhaps in light of Saul’s ultimate failure). I will demonstrate that multiple mantic events confirming a prognostication
was an ideal within the ancient Near East and wider Mediterranean by examining texts from ancient Iraq and Greece.
22-105 David B. Weisberg, Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion
Making Sense of “Garbled Legend”: The Case of Nebuchadnezzar
In his chapter on “Legacy and Survival,” H. W. F. Saggs refers
to “a time, not long past, when it was possible to write all that
was known of ancient Mesopotamia in a few pages of mangled
history and garbled legend” (The Greatness that was Babylon, p.
483). In this paper, we explore some of the “mangled history and
garbled legend” concerning Nebuchadnezzar, preserved mainly
in Jewish sources, and we offer some innovative suggestions as
to the possible origins of some of these peculiar stories— with
the field of Assyriology providing many answers to questions
about the stories’ origins. Among examples to be discussed are
Lev. Rabbah 19:6 which speaks of “Semiramis, wife of Nebuchadnezzar” and Lev. Rabbah 18:2 which tells of Amel-Marduk’s
seven-year reign during his father’s absence and his difficult
struggle for dynastic succession.
22-105 Ilona Zsolnay, University of Pennsylvania
The Akitu Festival, Ištar of Nineveh, and Ištar of Arba’il
Akitu festivals are recorded to have been performed as early
as the Ur III period and were common throughout the ancient
Near East; it has even been argued that various biblical Psalms
allude to the celebration, and that Purim may have roots as an
Akitu. Though the Akitu festival likely began as a New Year’s
ritual which celebrated the new season, during the latter half of
the second millennium it morphed into an occasion which celebrated the triumph of order over chaos and the organization of
the universe through the recitation (if not re-enactment) of the
Enuma Eliš. In Babylon, the protagonist of this epic tale was the
god Marduk, while in Assyria it was the god Aššur. The villain of
the saga was always the deity Tiamat. Though the originator of
the chaos essential for the tale is a female deity, as observed by
Stephanie Dalley, no goddesses take part in the ordering of the
world. Goddesses are, however, listed together with male gods
in the battle formation in the Assyrian version. These facts make
it all the more curious, then, that, according to the Neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon, during his reign an Akitu temple for the
goddess Ištar of Nineveh was renovated (a structure which may
have originally been built by Sargon II). Akitu temples are also
recorded for the goddess Ištar of Arba’il in the inscriptions of
Esarhaddon and his son Aššurbanipal. This presentation seeks
to investigate this seeming dichotomy and to elucidate the relationship between Ištar of Nineveh, Ištar of Arba’il, and the Akitu
festival.
22-106 Robert Paul Seesengood, Albright College
What Did we Just See? A Bibliographic Survey of Scholarship on
Bible and Film
This paper is a partial report on an ongoing project that maps
the field of Bible and Film. The paper is a reflection on our
critical bibliography on Bible and Film and identifies five major
“lenses” or sub-genres of criticism which have emerged to date.
The paper presents specific examples of these sub-genres within
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the context of a critical appraisal of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of
the Christ.” Copies of the current edition of the bibliography will
be provided on request.
22-106 Michael Leary, University of Edinburgh
A Film Primer on Biblical Studies: A Review of N. Hurley’s Contribution to Bible in Film Criticism
Scholarship produced by the Biblical Studies guild on biblical
images and narratives in film doesn’t often converge with the
large amount of material that can be found in film criticism
proper. This makes surveying the literature on Bible and Film
in an SBL consultation an interesting prospect. These are two
distinct disciplines with dissimilar critical vocabularies, modes
of interpretation, and competing interests. There are, however, a
few isolated cases in the literature that point toward a rapprochement between these seemingly incompatible fields of study. One
of the boldest voices is the work of Neil P. Hurley, whose books
on theology and film are more relevant now than they ever have
been. Over the course of three volumes written in the 1970’s,
Hurley moved from “Theology Through Film” to “Towards a
Film Humanism” and eventually to “A Film Primer on Liberation.” This paper argues that Hurley was ahead of his time in the
way he attempted to integrate the formative interests of film criticism in social justice, realism, and the politics of images with
prevailing trends in theology and biblical studies. Hurley’s work
can help us think of biblical images in film in relation to the
conventions of neo-realism, expressionism, documentary, and
other basic film-critical constructs. His work provides a provocative place to begin thinking about how film criticism and
biblical criticism can interact in mutually beneficial ways, and
critiques some of the myopic trends that have tended to define
“Bible and Film” literature since its inception.
22-106 Christopher C. Fuller, Carroll College-Helena
Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going? A Review of
Images of the Word: Hollywood’s Bible and Beyond
Images of the Word: Hollywood’s Bible and Beyond is one of the
latest publications in the burgeoning field of film and biblical
studies. Its publication by the Society of Biblical Literature attests to the degree that this field of study has moved from the
margins to a more accepted position within the biblical guild.
As such this collection of enlightening essays provides an opportunity to assess how far the field has come in a short time
and identify opportunities for further study. In particular, there
remains the need for more concentrated visual analysis of films
and greater methodological synthesis of film theory.
22-106 Matthew S. Rindge, Gonzaga University
The Future of the Discipline of Bible and Film
The burgeoning discipline of “Bible and Film,” evident in a proliferation of publications in the field, raises multiple questions
regarding the nature of the discipline itself. What are the principal aims of scholarship in “Bible and Film”? What methods
and strategies are employed (and with what types of success) to
meet these goals? What role does “Bible and Film” play vis-àvis other disciplines in the SBL? In what ways is the discipline
of “Bible and Film” similar to and distinct from disciplines
such as “Theology and Film” and “Religion and Film”? What,
in short, constitutes scholarship in the discipline of Bible and
Film? This paper, which coincides with the first year of the Bible
and Film Consultation, seeks to answer such questions, and to
identify potentially fruitful areas of future scholarly inquiry. Primary attention will be given to questions concerning content
and method. I will also address how the discipline of “Bible and
Film” is likely to be influenced by ongoing advancements and
developments in technology.
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22-107 Patrick J. Russell, Sacred Heart School of Theology
Davidic Retellings and the Negotiation of Political Power
Two distinct versions of the story of King David (1 Samuel 16–1
Kings 2 and 1 Chronicles 11–29) exist within the biblical canon.
These two renditions differ not only in narrative details, but also
in literary genre. The plot elements in the Chronicler’s version
match the form of a comedy (as classically defined by Aristotle), while the Deuteronomistic Historian’s account corresponds
with tragedy. While this latter appraisal is rather obvious even
after a cursory reading of the Deuteronomistic narrative, the
retellings of the David story found in various media produced
by biblical scholarship, popular culture, and religious communities (e.g., books, film, homilies) almost invariably transmit
David’s story within the literary genre of comedy and only rarely
as tragedy. When viewed through the lens of Social Dominance
Theory (SDT), an interdisciplinary school of thought within
social psychology, the decision—both in the post-exilic and
modern contexts—to portray the David story as either comedy
or tragedy represents a strategy for navigating power imbalance
between subordinate and dominant groups. Specifically, telling the story of David as comedy implicitly legitimates political
authority, which SDT’s Asymmetry Hypothesis indicates will socially function to increase ingroup favoritism among dominant
groups while simultaneously promoting within subordinate
groups a sense of inferiority and acquiescence to the dominant
group. On the other hand, recounting the David saga as tragedy
delegitimates political authority, and thus supports ideologies of
subversion among oppressed groups. These social dynamics will
be unpacked by examining the political context in which the David stories were originally told during post-exilic times and also
by probing some modern retellings of the David tale as found in
popular films produced in Hollywood and catechetical resources
created by marginalize groups within American society.
22-107 Alice Bach, Case Western Reserve University
“If there are such things as miracles, Israel has to be One!”: Narratives from the Hollywood Vault
This paper will examine constructed narratives of the founding of the modern state of Israel in American films, from the
romanticized beginnings of nationhood films, Exodus (1960)
and Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), to the Israeli version of Sesame
Street. My intention is to compare Hollywood’s mirroring of the
mythic pioneering films of the settling of the American West to
the settling of Israel, as well as the ways in which these films gave
Americans a strong connection to the state of Israel’s “struggle
for independence.” With stars such as Paul Newman and Eva
Marie Saint (Exodus) and Kirk Douglas, Yul Brunner, John
Wayne, and Frank Sinatra (Cast a Giant Shadow), it is difficult
for the American viewer to separate these films from American
war stories, larded with Hollywood passion and romance. The
second part of the paper deals with contemporary made for
TV films, e.g, Israel: Birth of a Nation, Against All Odds Israel
Survives, and Israel in a Time of Terror. Primarily made for the
History Channel and the A&E networks, these polemic films are
all told from an Israeli point of view. Thus, they keep an American audience securely believing in one constant narrative: the
struggle of innocent Israel against its Arab foes, none of whom
are interviewed or presented in any setting other than bloody
attempts at conquest.
22-107 Colleen Shantz, Toronto School of Theology
“This Story Is Going to Take a Long Time”: The Unbinding of
Stories in ‘Green Grass, Running Water’
Although /Green Grass, Running Water/ is a novel, it plays with
the conventions of orality and violates several norms of writ-
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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ten fiction. The political background to these literary deviations
is the contemporary situation of North American indigenous
peoples, especially their relationship to the land and the governments that “own” the land. The novel repeatedly recites
creation stories in ways that critique both the role of literature
in colonization and Western understandings of book and story. It accomplishes this in part by retelling indigenous creation
accounts as the master narrative in which Biblical stories are embedded. At the same time, the key event in the “real story” of the
novel is a flood, which serves not so much to set things right, as
to set off a new round in the narrative cycle. This paper explores
author Thomas King’s efforts to bend (Judeo-) Christian themes
and narratives to other ends. The book delivers a gentle critique
of linearity, of a ideologies structured by dichotomy, and of order as the highest accomplishment of religious thinking. I argue
that King uses a literary genre cunningly and playfully to disrupt
the power of documents and the effect they have had on (1) the
understanding of religious narratives and (2) colonizers’ treatment of indigenous peoples and the land.
22-107 Gitte Buch-Hansen, University of Copenhagen
John in Johannesburg: A Postcolonial Analysis of Jeppe Rönde’s
Documentary The Swenkas
Once a week, “when it is Saturday night in the whole world,”
migrant workers from Johannesburg’s construction sites come
together for a spectacular show in the Hall, a naked concrete
cellar underneath the city. Dressed up in branded suits, the
blue-collar workers enter the catwalk and compete for the best
performance. The scene is found in the Danish documentarist Jeppe Rönde’s film about post-apartheid South Africa: The
Swenkas (2004). As part of Rönde’s Faith, Hope and Love trilogy, this film thematizes Hope. The Swenkas is a tale about the
mental borderland and the “unhomeliness” that characterize
post-apartheid migrant workers; they are foreigners in Johannesburg as well as in their homelands. Their lives are restricted
to the undefined, “interstitial spaces” of the city. At first glance,
the Swenkas’ performance seems to revive the Minstrel Shows of
19th century America and to adapt colonial stereotypes. However, when viewed through the lenses of Homi Bhabha’s Location
of Culture the show becomes a creative and subversive play about
postcolonial identities. Using Bhabha’s words, the Swenka-show
demonstrates “a sensibility attuned to mixtures….a delight in
texture and sensuous surfaces. Self-conscious manipulation of
materials or iconography….the combination of found material
and satiric wit….the manipulation of rasquache artifacts, code
and sensibilities from both sides of the border.” When the Swenkas revive and mime the Minstrel Shows, the foundation of the
colonial subject quakes. However, the epicentre underneath Johannesburg receives power from another place: John’s Gospel.
The film cuts back and forth between the Swenkas’ performance
in Johannesburg and their local priest’s sermon on John 14: “He
who has seen me, has seen the Father.” The sermon inscribes
the Swenkas in a divine genealogy. The paper examines how
the idea of the incarnation as an illegitimate immigration and
rasquachismo-performance constitutes a construction site for
this particular “third space” identity.
22-108 Constantine R. Campbell, Moore Theological College
Verbal Aspect in the Synoptic Gospels: Idiolect, Genre, and Register
The Synoptic Gospels employ verbal aspect with varying patterns. From Mark’s frequent use of the historical present through
to Luke’s sparing of the perfect indicative, the Synoptics provide
a valuable case study through which to examine the use of verbal
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aspect within Greek narrative. This paper will explore the nexus
between idiolect, genre, and register with respect to verbal aspect as it is employed within the Synoptic Gospels.
22-109 Steven M. Ortiz, Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary
Solomon’s City: Recent Excavations at Tel Gezer
Tel Gezer has a long history of excavations and has been infamous in the discussion of the archaeology of David and Solomon
due to the six-chambered gate. While much has been written
about the Solomonic building tradtion connected with the gates
at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15), The Iron Age city
at Gezer remains unknown in its historical and regional context. Recent excavations under the direction of Steve Ortiz and
Sam Wolff are investigating the fortification and city-planning
of the Iron Age city. This paper will present the results of these
renewed excavations.
22-109 Daniel A. Frese, University of California-San Diego
“Solomonic” Megiddo and Samaria Building Period I: A Support
for the Low Chronology?
Four major chronological anchors have been proposed in support of Israel Finkelstein’s low chronology of Iron Age Israel.
These include the date of Philistine Monochrome pottery, the
pottery of ninth century Jezreel (compared to that of Megiddo),
and high-precision radiocarbon dating. A fourth potential anchor, proposed by Norma Franklin, involves a comparison of two
strata: the debated “Solomonic” Megiddo VA–IVB, and Building
Period I in Samaria. Biblical testimony places the founding of
Samaria in the 9th century BCE, and all parties agree that the
royal compound unearthed there is from the 9th century. Franklin argues that since the two strata at Megiddo and Samaria are
alike in their use of the common cubit, their masonry style, and
their use of similar masons’ marks, the stratum at Megiddo must
also be from the 9th century, making it Omride, not Solomonic.
In this paper we will evaluate these three points of comparison
in detail, and conclude that all three are too chronologically imprecise to yield a meaningful temporal correlation.
22-109 Serge Frolov, Southern Methodist University
Abdi-Heba’s Dream: Solomon’s Cities (1 Kings 9:15–16) in the
Geopolitical Configuration of the Late-Bronze and Iron Age
Canaan
The biblical lists of the cities allegedly built (or fortified) by
Solomon are sharply divergent: in particular, Hazor, Gezer, and
Megiddo are present in 1 Kgs 9:15–16, but not in 2 Chronicles
8. While making it difficult to argue that either of the lists represents a faithful report of the king’s actual projects, this divergence
may be helpful in determining the sociohistorical matrices and
agendas of the two fragments. While Chronicles paints a vague,
fanciful picture of Solomon as the ruler of the entire territory
west of the Euphrates, Kings much more specifically and realistically places him in control of what in the Amarna age were the
main Cisjordanian city-states. This suggests a (relatively) early
date for the latter text and identifies it as a product of royal Jerusalemite propaganda.
22-109 Jane Cahill West, Houston, TX
Evolution or Revolution? Archaeology of Iron Age Jerusalem
Despite 150 years of intense archaeological excavation, a definitive picture of Jerusalem during the 10th c. B.C.E. cannot yet
be drawn. Because the historical record is scant, and the archaeological remains are fragmentary, difficult to excavate, and
incompletely published, the many unresolved questions about
Jerusalem’s development during the 10th c. B.C.E. have generated—and continue to generate—bitter debates among scholars
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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trying to draw factual conclusions from bodies of evidence that
will always be incomplete and subject to change. In addition to
long-standing controversies concerning the city’s size, and the
location of biblical landmarks such as David’s Palace, Solomon’s
Temple, and the Royal Necropolis, significant issues of current
debate include: whether the city’s character during the 10th c.
B.C.E. can be reconstructed based on the present record; and
whether assessment of the city’s development must include reference to earlier and/or later development activity. Nevertheless,
discoveries of topographical and archaeological features from
which 10th c. B.C.E. Jerusalem must be reconstructed can be
surveyed. This survey will show that 10th c. B.C.E. Jerusalem
includes infrastructural features retained from the Bronze Age,
fortifications, and evidence of a socially stratified population.
22-110 F. Rachel Magdalene, University of Leipzig and
Humboldt University Berlin
Introductory Remarks: Legal Science Then and Now
This paper, as the first paper in this panel, will introduce and
summarize briefly the work of Raymond Westbrook, who has
long articulated the view that the theory and methods of ancient
Near Eastern science informed ancient legal science, generally,
and the construction of the so-called law codes of the ancient
Near Eastern and early classical world, specifically. His view
is that the codes are in the nature of legal treatises, based on
case law, and that they reflect an ancient Near Eastern common
law that informs all the codes. This idea, then, informs his legal
hermeneutic. The paper will subsequently set Westbrook’s view
within the context of modern legal science or philosophy. How
one understands the nature of law broadly is of critical import
to how one understands the history of law. It is this paper’s view
that the varying disagreements regarding the development of
the ancient law codes, their nature, and import for ancient Near
Eastern law, all reflect different modern theories of the nature of
law and its development. The paper goes on to argue that Westbrook should be placed in the philosophical camp of analytical
legal philosophers, all of whom are based, at least in part, on
the work of Wittgenstein and that this Wittgensteinian legal
philosophy informs his legal historical views and methods. The
paper concludes that Wittgenstein’s non-Aristotelian philosophy as applied to legal history may well be a most helpful tool
in understanding legal science before Plato and Aristotle came
on the scene.
22-110 Sophie Démare-Lafont, École Pratique des Hautes
Études
From the Bank of the Seine to the Chesapeake Bay: Contrasting
Perspectives on Ancient Near Eastern Law
This paper will look at how different types of training, such as
continental vs. common-law training, can influence how one interprets ancient legal texts and the systems they represent.
22-110 Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, Ben Gurion University of
the Negev
Hammurabi’s Laws: What Were They and What Did They Become?
This paper will trace the reception of the Laws of Hammurabi
in later periods and will place the work of Raymond Westbrook
within that context.
22-110 Anselm C. Hagedorn, Humboldt Universität zu
Berlin
How Far Does a Legal Koine Extend? Remarks on Westbrook’s
‘Common Law’ in the Mediterranean
This paper will consider Raymond Westbrook’s theories regard60
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ing connections between early Greek and Roman law and legal
traditions from the ancient Near East.
22-111 Jacob L. Wright, Emory University
War and Children in the Ancient Near East
My paper seeks to reconstruct the various wartime experiences
of ancient Israelite and Judahite children. In order to do so, I
examine a wide range of evidence from ancient Western Asia.
First, I show how children function as symbols in descriptions of
war. In many texts, the epitome of a society at peace is children
playing in the streets, whereas the treacheries of war are often
expressed in terms of mothers forcing their daughters to fend for
themselves or similar tropes. Examining iconographic themes, I
discuss the NK Egyptian images of children being handed over
by their mothers in images of besieged Levantine cities in Egyptian scene and the prevalence of children in NA scenes of war
refugees. Second, I examine evidence from documents, letters
and material culture in order to address less prominent facets
of childhood wartime experiences, such as children slave trade,
orphans, starvation, adoption, children serving as soldiers,
children assuming adult responsibilities in wartime, children
in refugee communities, psychological effects of children in
wartime, childhood war memories, etc. I will briefly reveal the
results of my research on these topics that I completed for my
forthcoming book, War and Society in Ancient Israel (Oxford
UP).
22-111 Kristine Garroway, Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion
Neither Slave Nor Free: Children in Times of Siege
The Hebrew Bible suggests that during times of siege, the famine
would be so great and circumstances so dire that parents would
eat their children for lack of food. Are we to take these texts
literally? Were people driven to eat their children? Most probably these passages are literary hyperboles meant to highlight
the dreadful state of life during a siege. What then, did happen
to children during a siege? While the biblical text may not give
a clear answer, we do have a set of documents from the ancient
Near East that speak to the fate of children during a siege: the
Nippur Siege Texts (ca. 620 BCE). They, like the biblical text,
point to an extraordinary practice: parents selling their children.
The language and irregular format of the siege sale documents
demonstrates a discomfort with the sale of a free child. The issue
at hand is the permanency of the servitude. Permanently selling
a free child to another person, as the siege documents suggest,
violated societal norms. Therefore, only during times when
outside circumstances (i.e. famine or siege) threatened societal
norms did society allow a parent to sell a child. In addition to the
discomfort with the sale of a child, the siege texts also demonstrate ambiguity with respect to the free-sold child’s legal status.
Drawing on the work of Homi Bhabah, we can see how the terminology used in the documents may indicate that the status of
the sold-free child was neither slave nor free, but a new, hybrid
status—a status that included elements of both slave and free.
22-111 A. James Murphy, University of Denver
The Partisan God: Children’s Perspectives on the God of Israel in
Deuteronomy.
It is sometimes argued that the God of Israel has a universal
concern for children. Like adults, they are made in his image.
Abortion and exposure seem relatively unattested in ancient
Israel and the law forbade parents from passing their children
“through the fire” (Deut 18:10). They are among the most vulnerable in the ancient world and, like the poor, the widow and
orphan, God’s justice displays a particular concern for their care.
Using theories of childhood development this paper proposes
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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children’s perspectives on how divine justice affects children
in Deuteronomy. This paper argues that for children in Deuteronomy the God of Israel can be a source of protection and
sustenance for some while a source of terror and death for others. Concern for children is not universal. Deuteronomy 6:7
and 6:20–25 stipulate that Israelite parents nurture and educate
their children in the law, ensuring their protection and sustenance in the land he gifted them. By contrast, for children in
Deuteronomy 20:14 the God of Israel means terror, sanctioning the destruction of their households and their enslavement.
The children in 20:16–17 receive no mention. They are collateral
damage in the laws of Deuteronomy.
22-111 William L. Lyons, Regent University
The Forgotten Causality: Children and Herem in the Hebrew
Bible
Children occupy an important place in the Hebrew Bible. They
embody the hope of the future because they will pass on the
blessing of Abraham to the next generation. They are prayed
for and protected, they inherit property of their ancestors, and
a “quiver full of children” evinces great blessing (Ps 127:5). Nevertheless, children may also be the specific focus of war, and
particularly herem (the so-called “holy war”). For example: 1
Samuel said to [king] Saul . . . . 2 This is what the Lord Almighty
says: “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel
when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now
go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy [herem] everything
that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and
women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” (1 Sam 15:1–3) At polar opposites to passages like this,
are other narratives about the proper treatment of human beings. For example the Bible mandates special care for the weak
and the helpless (including women and children), attention to
the unique needs of foreigners, or the humane treatment of an
enemy. On occasion, even trees are cited on occasion for protection. Why are children specifically selected for destruction in
some passages? Is this simply rhetorical elaboration (i.e., utter
destruction) or is it a chilling divine mandate? This paper compares and contrasts the two types of herem passages (those that
mention children and those that do not) and asks why children
are ignored in some passages while intentionally mentioned in
others as specific objects of the carnage.
22-111 Caryn A. Reeder, Westmont College
Suffer the Children: Children and War in Deuteronomy, Lamentations, and Josephus’s Jewish War
In Deuteronomy 28 and Lamentations, children are the unwitting victims of the wars consequent upon their parents’ rebellion
against Yahweh. This paper argues that the exiled, starving, cannibalized, and slain children in these texts bear their parents’
punishment. The explanatory and emotive power of the topos
of children suffering in times of war develops from the realities of warfare and the theological and cultural value placed on
children in ancient Israel. Suffering children reappear in the late
Second Temple period in The Jewish War. According to Josephus, the rebels are judged for and punished by the fate of their
children (2:395, 4:106, 6:187, etc.). In light of Deuteronomy and
Lamentations, Josephus’s depiction of the experience of children
in the Jewish revolt can be read as a warning against the instigation of war—a warning made explicit in J.W. 2:237 and 5:418,
and one that modern audiences would do well to heed.
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22-113 Peter Steiger, Chaminade University of Honolulu
Seeing God ‘Face to Face’: Spiritual Maturity and the Reception
of 1 Corinthians 13:9–12 in the Commentaries of Didymus the
Blind.
Throughout his writings, Didymus the Blind consistently presents the progress of the Christian spiritual life as containing
phases reflective of the maturity of the believer. The image of
spiritual growth from childhood and adulthood is drawn from
various allusions in the bible, but one particular passage favored
by Didymus is 1 Corinthians 13:9–12. The purpose of this paper
will be to outline Didymus’ understanding of seeing God ‘face
to face’ as the climax of the Christian life and his interpretation,
application and reception of 1 Corinthians 13:9–12 as a key to
understanding other biblical texts which refer to spiritual progress.
22-113 David Kneip, University of Notre Dame
The Holy Spirit’s Inspiration of Scripture according to Cyril of
Alexandria
In his commentary on Hosea, Cyril of Alexandria argues that
Scripture is a fundamentally spiritual thing: “…while earthly
bodies require food and drink, the produce of the land and water
for the senses, a person’s soul is nourished on divine and heavenly words. It needs the spiritual draught, a spring that brings it
spiritual water that is the divinely inspired Scripture speaking of
the mystery of Christ.” But for Cyril, Scripture is not only “spiritual” in that it is the ideal nourishment for the human spirit; it is
also “spiritual” in that its primary author is God the Holy Spirit.
In this paper I propose to examine Cyril’s ideas of the Spirit’s
inspiration of Scripture. I will discuss the terminology he uses
to describe this phenomenon (e.g., the Greek term pneumatophoros, the notion of “speaking in [the] Spirit,” etc.). I will also
describe his notion of how the prophets of the Hebrew Bible received their illuminations through the Spirit (e.g., whether these
illuminations were purely verbal or also included visions, the
nature of the prophet’s foreknowledge of events, etc.). To this last
point, I will set forth the analogies that Cyril sees between the
inspiration of the writers of the Hebrew Bible and those of the
New Testament books. Finally, I will say a few words about the
Spirit’s role in the proper interpretation of this Scripture. My primary texts in this paper will be Cyril’s commentaries on Isaiah
and the Twelve Prophets, although I will also discuss texts from
elsewhere in his corpus, including his New Testament commentaries, his pre-Nestorian dogmatic works, and the texts from the
Nestorian period.
22-113 Janet A. Timbie, Catholic University of America
The Interpretation of the Song of Songs in the Pachomian Koinonia: “Reading” Community
In her book, Reading Renunciation, Elizabeth Clark analyzes
the method used by Christian authors (c. 100–450 C.E.) to find
scriptural support for the ascetic life. She is interested in the selection of words and verses that were then “recontextualized to
promote the superiority of abstinence” (p. 4). In the monasteries of the Pachomian Koinonia, beginning in the fourth century,
sexual abstinence is a given; thus, attention is focused on behavior that fosters a spirit of community. Letters, catecheses,
and rules, written in Coptic and attributed to Pachomius and
to the next generation of leaders (mainly Theodore and Horsiesius), contain similarly selective readings of scripture, but here
the goal is to promote behavior that strengthens the communal
form of monastic life. The Song of Songs—as well as the two
preceding “Solomonic” books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes—provided key texts for a wide range of early monastic works in
Egypt, written in both Greek and Coptic. The letters of Antony,
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the writings of Evagrius, and the Sayings of the Fathers all mined
this material for messages of instruction and encouragement.
And some Christian scriptural commentary, as in the work of
Origen, included verse-by-verse and word-by-word allegorical
interpretation of the Song. Pachomian writers, in contrast, selected single words or verses from a biblical book (for example,
“brother” in Song of Songs) and used them in support of a monastic community living under a rule. The Pachomian use of
key biblical passages, down to the level of words and verses, will
be examined, and compared with the practice of other patristic
texts (monastic and non-monastic), so that distinctive features
may be better understood.
22-113 AnneMarie Luijendijk, Princeton University
A Gospel Amulet, Athanasius, and Egyptian Orthodoxy
I propose to present a paper on biblical interpretation and the
role of scripture in Egypt as seen through the prism of gospel
amulets. My paper examines a fifth-century amulet for a woman, P.Oxy. VIII 1151, against the backdrop of writings by church
leaders, such as a Coptic sermon and fragment both attributed
to Athanasius of Alexandria. I will demonstrate that these gospel amulets, seen in their local Egyptian context, in their use of
canonical scripture and Christian scribal practices, and in their
appeal to local saints, give us a different view of ‘orthodoxy’ than
the church fathers promoted.
22-114 Paul S. Evans, Ambrose University College
The Influence of Isaiah 7 on the Chronicler’s Ahaz Account
The Chronicler’s account of the reign of Ahaz of Judah (2
Chronicles 28) has invariably been read in comparison with the
account in 2 Kings 16 (his putative Vorlage). Though the Chronicler follows the general outline of 2 Kings 16 there are numerous
differences between the accounts (including the insertion of an
encounter between Israelites and a prophet) which interpreters
have explained in various ways. Interestingly, 2 Chronicles 32:32
references the “vision of Isaiah” (which is the editorial incipit
and natural title of the canonical book) as a source employed
by the Chronicler, inviting the interpreter to view Chronicles in
dialogue with the book of Isaiah. Following this lead, this study
will examine the relationship between 2 Kings 16, Isaiah 7 and 2
Chronicles 28, drawing on Bakthin’s ideas of dialogism. While in
the context of the Syro-Ephraimite threat, Isaiah 7 emphasized
the need for Ahaz to trust in Yahweh (Isa 7:9) and clearly predicts that Assyria will trouble Ahaz severely (Isa 7:17), in 2 Kings
16 Ahaz’s trust in/appeal to Assyria appears to successfully end
the Syro-Ephramite threat as Assyria comes to his aid. The potential for conflict between these texts is obvious. As well, the
insertion of a new prophetic story into the Ahaz narrative may
be influenced by the prophetic encounter between Isaiah and
Ahaz in Isaiah 7. This study suggests that the texts of Isaiah and
2 Kings are positions that are answered by Chronicles.
22-114 Ken Ristau, Pennsylvania State University
Land Tenure and Citizenship in Ezra-Nehemiah
Recent studies of the reconstruction of Jerusalem in the Persian
period have attempted to situate this event in the broader context
of imperial administration and military strategy. This approach
is often inspired by the imperial authorization accorded to the
missions of Ezra and Nehemiah in the biblical text. Current archaeological research of Jerusalem, however, casts significant
doubt on the role that the city could have played in that context.
In fact, it is doubtful that Jerusalem experienced a significant
recovery before the Hellenistic and Hasmonean periods. Instead
of reading Ezra-Nehemiah and the reconstruction of Jerusalem in this light then, my presentation focuses on how the text
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addresses issues of land tenure and citizenship, and how these
issues may have related to the later physical recovery of the city.
22-114 Donna Laird, Drew University
Who is the Author of Ezra 5–6 and What is He Trying to do?
In studies of the book of Ezra, scholars have long agreed that
authorial concerns and ideology had a major impact on its final
form. This paper explores the author’s purpose in the presentation of the idealized past presented in Ezra 5 and 6 and how his
rhetorical strategy reflects the complexities of the author’s world
and his place in it. Methods based on the work of the sociologist,
Pierre Bourdieu, are utilized to analyze these texts. In particular
his work on competition in various fields (religious, social, and
political), forms of capital (economic, cultural, or social) and
symbolic language will be employed. Using Bourdieu’s definitions, one can posit the cultural capital available to the author
and how he employs it in response to the particular conflicts
in his time. Particular attention will be given the author’s interest in written records, use of the Aramaic language, royal edicts
and attention to the role of priests. Together these suggest a
dual role for the author in his community—as both government
scribe and priest. His position as priest is tied to the centrality and vigor of the temple which I argue is in some jeopardy
in his lifetime. Therefore the author utilizes a homologous relationship between his role as scribe and priest to defend the
importance of the temple. His narrative reflects the influence of
a variety of competing concerns: The influence of Imperial rule,
the community’s doubts or suspicions of a temple rebuilt by Persian imperial resources, and the author’s dual loyalty to Yahweh
and Persia. All these have direct impact on the development and
ordering of the arguments of the author. His efforts to bolster
the standing of the Temple have to take into account the realities
of his times.
22-117 Enrico Norelli, University of Geneva
Constructing Christian Literature in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History
Will discuss the role of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History in the
formation of late antique Christian literary culture.
22-117 William Adler, North Carolina State University
Christians and the Library of Edessa
Will discuss the role of Christian literary culture and the schools
of learning in the easter Mediterranean.
22-117 Megan Hale Williams, San Francisco State University
Christian Literary Culture in Practice and Theory: The Case of
Eusebius
Will discuss the issues of texts and historiography in order to
locate Eusebius within broader developments.
22-117 Elizabeth A. Clark, Duke University
Christian Literary Culture in Late Antiquity: A Response
Will respond to the papers by Norelli, Adler, and Williams.
22-118 Denise K. Buell, Williams College
Staging an Introduction: Hauntology Meets Posthumanism. Some
Payoffs for Biblical Studies
This paper argues for the benefit to biblical and especially early
Christian studies of bringing together scholarly theorization of
haunting and spectrality (associated especially with the work of
Derrida, but also developed by Abraham and Torok, and more
recently Morrison and Gordon) with the articulation of postor trans-humanism in science studies and material feminism
(associated especially with the work of Haraway, but also devel-
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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oped by folks such as Latour and Barad). These scholars share
concerns about the limits and possibilities of the human agency
and transformation, as well as about temporality, memory, and
ethics. I shall offer some specific examples of the ways in which
these theoretical resources can be brought together both to read
texts and the history of biblical studies otherwise.
22-118 Brian M. Britt, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University
David Machine
Recent studies of David by Baruch Halpern, Steven McKenzie,
and Niels Peter Lemche have cast doubt on the historicity of biblical accounts, but they replace “sacred” images of David with
decidedly “secular” ones (“serial killer,” for instance). Putting
aside debates on the historicity of the biblical account, this paper
argues that current debates over David are already biblical, and
that the moral ambiguity of the biblical text is more self-reflexive than naïve, suggesting a sober reflection on human political
and religious power. David’s repulsion at the Amalekite’s claim
to have killed Saul; his unwillingness to kill Shimei; and the killing of Saul’s children and grandchildren all render David as a
kind of tragic figure, unable to exercise human passions because
he must defeat the house of Saul, consolidate power, and conquer enemies without violating the letter and spirit of Israelite
religion and the Deuteronomic Code. By analogy to Heiner
Müller’s 1979 play, Hamletmachine, a text that confronts the
struggle between canonical text and hermeneutical tradition,
this paper considers the biblical portrait of David as a “David
machine,” a literary-historical figure compelled to embody and
enact competing, if not contradictory, religious and literary demands. This paper thus addresses theoretical discussions of the
human-machine relationship, as well as debates on “secularity”
and “religion.” Neither purely “secular” nor “sacred,” the biblical
David is thus a kind of machine that filters the horrors of ancient
warfare and politics into the heroism and sublime religiosity of
Deuteronomistic tradition.
22-118 Benjamin H. Dunning, Fordham University
Sexual Difference and the Specter of Paul in Clement of Alexandria
This paper draws on Jacques Derrida’s work on hauntology to
explore the spectral role—both productive and constraining—
of Paul’s theological anthropology with respect to Clement of
Alexandria’s understanding of sexual difference. Paul’s early
readers found the apostle’s already seemingly conflicting reflections on sexual difference situated within an intricate nexus in
which questions about the body, creation, and resurrection collide. This nexus continued to haunt Christian discourse on the
question of sexual difference in the second and third centuries.
Thus “through the specters of memory and the text” (Derrida),
later Christian writers were left to wrestle with this inherited
problematic: whatever the sexually-differentiated human being
might be, it had to be conceptualized not only in terms of where
it had come from (i.e., Adam) but also in terms of where it was
going (i.e., Christ). The paper will look specifically at Protrepticus 11 where we see this dynamic clearly in play. Here Clement
offers a narrative of creation and redemption that follows Paul in
offering a contrastive parallel between the fall of Adam and the
redemptive work of Christ. As in Paul’s Adam-Christ typology,
Eve is necessarily missing from this story, so as to preserve the
inclusivity of the “first human” in its representative function. Yet
at the same time, the question of the feminine haunts Clement’s
rendition of the creation narrative, insofar as the trace of Eve
appears as the stain of desire driving the movement of fall and redemption. Thus Clement ends up associating the feminine with
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desire in a narrative in which desire is necessarily a problem. In
so doing, he ensures that the place of sexual difference within his
theology must necessarily be fraught and shifting, functioning
as both cause and symptom of desire simultaneously.
22-119 Jennifer Dines, University of Cambridge
“We have hated evil and loved good.” “Restore justice ...” (Amos
5.15 LXX): The Book of the Twelve as protreptic philosophy?
In several places the Old Greek of the Minor Prophets diverges
from the MT in ways which could suggest that the translator is
trying to engage his readers and to encourage a response to the
religious, moral and ethical challenges of the prophetic message.
Exhortatory and moralising touches are already present in the
MT but, through an examination of selected passages, this paper
will suggest that the translator of the Twelve has a particular interest in developing them, and that one of his influences might
be the genre of Hellenistic Greek protreptic philosophy.
22-119 W. Edward Glenny, Northwestern College-St. Paul
The Translation of Visually Ambiguous Phenomena in the Septuagint of Amos
Several factors are important to consider when endeavoring to
understand the struggles a Septuagint translator would have had
with visually ambiguous phenomena in his Vorlage. One important question concerns to what degree the translator was aware
of a tradition of vocalization of the Vorlage. Other important
questions involve whether there were vowels, final letters, or divisions between the words in the Vorlage. After a brief survey
of those questions, this paper will focus on the translation of
three ambiguous phenomena in LXX-Amos: homonyms, homographs, and word division. The results of this study help us
understand the methodology of this translator and are a basis
for comparing his work with that found in other sections of the
LXX-Twelve.
22-119 Karen H. Jobes, Wheaton College
The Minor Prophets in James
The writers of the New Testament certainly knew and were influenced by the Twelve. But where verbal parallels with the text
of the Twelve are too short clearly to be quotations, it is difficult
to determine if the parallel is truly a literary allusion or simply
the common vocabulary of a shared tradition. Focusing on allusions to the Minor Prophets in the book of James, this paper
will explore methodology involved in an attempt to demonstrate
reference to the Greek text of the Twelve in this epistle.
22-119 Stephen Moyise, University of Chichester
Paul’s use of LXX Hosea
Paul’s quotations of Hosea in Rom 9:25–26 and 1 Cor 15:55 both
present difficulties for the interpreter. In the first place, there are
considerable differences between the text printed by NA27 and
current critical editions. Second, there is a considerable difference in meaning between Paul and Hosea. In this paper, I will
investigate whether there is a satisfactory solution that explains
both of these uses or whether they can only be explained individually by resorting to a range of factors.
22-119 Bogdan G. Bucur, Duquesne University
The Vision of Habakkuk in the Septuagint and its Christian
Reception
The peculiar reading of Hab 3:2 in the LXX has had a rich reception history in early Christianity. Origen’s use of this passage
in conjunction with Isaiah 6 is well-known in scholarship. Less
attention has been paid to an alternative reading, found in Tertullian, which uses Hab 3:2 christologically. In my presentation I
will show that this has been, by far, the more popular interpreta-
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tion, and that, aside from exegetical connections with several
NT texts, some surprising connections have been made with the
vision of Ezekiel. Evidence to this effect can be gleaned from a
variety of patristic writers, as well as from later Byzantine hymnography and iconography.
22-120 David Melvin, Baylor University
Divine Mediation and the Rise of Civilization in Mesopotamian
Literature, Genesis 1–11, and Jewish Apocalyptic
This paper examines the role of divine mediation in the rise
of civilization in Mesopotamian literature, the lack thereof in
Genesis 1–11, and the return of divine mediation in Jewish
apocalyptic literature. A brief survey of Mesopotamian literature
shows that civilization was understood to have originated by divine means. The specific means varied from the use of divine
intermediaries to the direct creation of aspects of civilization by
the gods and their bestowal of humanity. In Gen 1–11, by contrast, civilization does not arise through divine means. There are
no divine mediators, and God does not play any role in the development of the arts of civilization. The primary texts analyzed
are Gen 4:17–22; 10:8–12; 11:1–9, all of which are consistent in
presenting the rise of civilization as the work of humans without
divine assistance. The absence of divine mediation of civilization
is further highlighted by a brief examination of the return of the
mythological motif of divine instruction in the arts of civilization in Jewish apocalyptic literature. 1 Enoch and Jubilees follow
roughly the same pattern as the one found in Mesopotamian
myths, with civilization arising from the teachings of the Watchers.The key to the absence of the divine instruction motif in Gen
1–11 is the reception of forbidden divine knowledge by humans
in the Eden story of Gen 3. The developments in Gen 4–11 are
the working out of the divine knowledge obtained by Adam and
Eve. This association between civilization and the forbidden
divine knowledge obtained in Eden colors civilization in Gen
4–11 negatively. The result is that responsibility for civilization,
and the evils which accompany it, is shifted to humans. In the
post-exilic era, divine mediation returns as part of a broader
phenomenon of the resurfacing of early myths in apocalyptic
literature and should be understood as an attempt to address the
problem of evil by once again shifting responsibility back to the
divine (i.e., demonic) realm.
22-120 Heath Dewrell, Johns Hopkins University
The (Ab)use of Human Beings for Ritual Purposes in Sefire I
The inscription commonly referred to as “Sefire I” is a treaty that
contains a section of curses that were accompanied by ritual acts.
Among these acts are “blinding” a wax man, melting a(nother?)
wax man, cutting a calf in two, and breaking a bow and arrows.
These ritual acts all signify what will happen to the weaker party
of the treaty were he to break the oath. This paper examines two
particular clauses of this section, one which involves a “gnb’“
and another which involves a “znyh.” The natural translation of
these terms is “thief ” and “prostitute,” but no interpreter thus
far has understood these characters as an actual human thief or
prostitute. This paper will draw upon Near Eastern sources, especially biblical sources, to demonstrate that the natural reading
of the text makes perfect sense, and that a real thief was killed
and a real prostitute was stripped and struck as part of the treaty
ritual.
22-120 Esther J. Hamori, Union Theological Seminary
What a Witch: Women and Divination in Biblical and Near
Eastern Texts
This paper explores the portrayal of female diviners in relation to
their place in family structures. A correspondence between the
role of a diviner and a non-normative place in society may be ob64
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served in both biblical and Near Eastern texts. In biblical texts,
for example, the three named prophetesses, Miriam, Huldah and
Deborah, do not have children. Notably, these prophetesses are
among the few female characters in the Bible who do not bear
children. The only woman who is both called a prophetess and
bears a child is the unnamed woman in Isaiah 8:3, who does not
in the story receive any word from God. (Rebekah “inquires”
[drš] of Yahweh, which certainly rings of divination, though the
reference here is ambiguous.) Sometimes the views of female
diviners are more negative. As has been recognized, biblical authors do reflect an acceptance of divination (by any other name)
when associated with, say, the priest’s ephod and its Urim and
Thummim. Elijah resurrects the dead, and is portrayed as a
prophet performing a miracle. The texts are less generous, however, toward the medium of En-dor. Leviticus 20:27 condemns
any medium to death, but this role may be more associated with
women: when Saul seeks out a medium, his request is specifically for a woman. Note interestingly that in Lev 20:6, “turning
to mediums” is described as “playing the harlot.” We may also
observe portrayals of diviners linked to non-normative gender roles in the texts of Israel’s neighbors. In the Mari letters,
as I have argued elsewhere and will present now with increased
evidence, the gender-ambiguous assinnu are disproportionately
required to submit their hair and hem for verification. Relevant
phenomena may also be seen in Babylonian witchcraft texts.
22-120 Brian R. Doak, Harvard University
Predicting the Past, Remembering the Future: Vaticinia ex
Eventu in the Historiographic Traditions of the Hebrew Bible and
the Ancient Near East
This paper is an attempt to explore the distinct historical contexts and historiographic implications pertaining to the use of
vaticinia ex eventu (Lat. “prophecies after the event”) in a series
of biblical texts and Mesopotamian cuneiform documents. This
literary technique, whose religious purposes and sociological
effects and motivations remain mostly obscure, was apparently
widely known and used in the ancient Near East, from Egypt to
Mesopotamia, as early as the 2nd millennium BCE, and, indeed,
post-event predictions have found a place in many of the world’s
religious traditions. Interpreters have rarely made a methodologically coherent effort to consider the appearance of the ex
eventu phenomenon in the biblical corpus, and, to broaden the
scale considerably, no one has yet attempted to consider the use
of vaticinia ex eventu as a widely-employed ancient Near Eastern
historiographic trope. Interestingly, those who have commented
on the purpose of the ex eventu technique are mostly content
to note that such prophecies primarily serve to bolster the “legitimacy” or “credibility” of the document in which they appear.
This view, though widespread, is fraught with difficulties; it is my
contention that we should not continue to speak about vaticinia
ex eventu in terms of “propaganda” or “legitimation,” but rather
as a complex historiographic phenomenon that engenders Mesopotamian and biblical traditions regarding the nature of time
and “history” and the authority of inspired interpreters to speak
about the future and the past. Toward these ends, I will propose
some new methodological considerations for understanding the
historiographic implications of vaticinia ex eventu, drawn from
the history of philosophy and religious studies from Plato and
Augustine to Proust and Freud, and then provide reflection on
whether, or to what extent, such methodologies can be useful in
discussing the ancient Near Eastern religio-historical environment.
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22-120 Robin Gallaher Branch, Crichton College
Herodotus Agrees: Xerxes is an Angry Man! The Persian Wars
Sheds Light on Xerxes’ Temper Tantrums in the Book of Esther
The Book of Esther describes Xerxes, king of Persia and Media, as an angry man. It highlights the king’s ups (Est 1:12; 7:7)
and downs (2:1; 7:10). Surprisingly, Herodotus in The Persian
Wars likewise emphasizes the king’s anger and wrath. His classic Greek tale fills in a time gap between Esther 1 and 2: Xerxes
travels west from his capital, Susa, and loses a war in Sparta.
The Persian Wars chronicles Xerxes’ international humiliation
and the despot’s rages along the way. Xerxes bullies and blames
subordinates; destroys property and lives in a swath from Persia
to Sparta; acts pompously; and exhibits angry outbursts when
crossed or thwarted. Herodotus confirms that generals, enemies,
and aides tiptoe around this international bully. One, however,
does not. Artemisia, a woman ship commander, earns Xerxes’
respect. When the battlefield of his life switches from Sparta
back to Susa, the Bible presents a second model of courage,
Esther, Xerxes’ new queen. Walking confidently in the halls of
power, this lovely “general” in regal robes comes gracefully yet
forcefully before the king, time and time again. Modeling anger
management techniques with a blend of wisdom and femininity,
Esther faces Xerxes’ anger—and neutralizes it.
22-121 Hugh Houghton, ITSEE, University of Birmingham
Chapter divisions in the Old Latin versions of John
Although the modern chapter and verse divisions in the Gospels are much later in date, there are already several systems of
dividing the text of John present in manuscripts from the sixth
century (and possibly earlier), as well as various traditions of
chapter headings and summaries found at the beginning of the
Gospel. Several of these witnesses contain a biblical text which is
Old Latin in affiliation rather than Jerome’s revision later known
as the Vulgate. This paper, based on the transcriptions made for
the new edition of the Vetus Latina Iohannes where such information has been systematically recorded for the first time, will
present the differing schemes, discuss their significance, and
explore patristic parallels for some of the forms of text in this
additional material.
22-121 Craig R. Koester, Luther Seminary
Use of Internal Criteria in Editing John; An Exegete’s View
The contribution of exegetes to the preparation of a critical text
of John is vital. In the first of what is planned as a series of annual presentations, Dr Koester will examine a couple of passages
where internal factors play a particularly significant role in selecting the text.
22-121 Rachel Kevern, University of Birmingham
Transcribing Manuscripts: How Everyone can Share in Making
New Editions
The IGNTP and Münster Institut have developed a methodology for transcribing manuscripts electronically which can be
a standard for all editing. As one of the principals in making
the guidelines, Rachel describes how they work, why they matter, and how they provide a simple tool for anyone to transcribe
manuscripts for the IGNTP.
22-122 Luisa Simonutti, Università di Milano
Biblical Criticism and Toleration in the Seventeenth Century:
Spinoza, Locke and Toland
Toland arrived in Holland in the course of 1691 and remained
there for about two years to perfect his theological studies under
the guidance of the famous exegetes, historians and orientalists of the University of Leiden. In his restless travels through
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the Seven Provinces Toland also stayed in Amsterdam, where
he got to know Philippus van Limborch and his circle of Remonstrant ministers and theologians, with Jean Le Clerc among
them. However, it was in Rotterdam, in the circle of friends of
the Colchester merchant Benjamin Furly, that Toland came into
contact with a melting-pot of ideas, of Dutch books and intellectuals, and French, English and Mitteleuropean theologians,
thinkers and politicians who had elected this major port as their
new asylum. It was Furly who wrote to John Locke in August
1693 apropos the young Irish theologian: “I find him to be a
free spirited ingenious man; that quitted the Papacy in Jameses
time when al men, of no principles were looking towards it, and
having once cast off the yoak of Spirituall Authority, that great
bugbear, and bane of ingenuity, he could never be perswaded
to bow his neck to that yoak again, by whom soever claymed”
(Locke, Correspondence, letter n. 1650). The encounter with
the culture and the philological and critical studies that had developed in liberal Holland, the philosophy of Spinoza and the
thought of the Hugenot exiles, as well as the figure of Locke as a
politician and exegete in his latter years, are all aspects that are
central to the intellectual biography of the philosopher which I
intend to address in my contribution. As so aptly expressed by
Margaret Jacob, on his return to England at the end of his Dutch
sojourn, Toland was no longer a Presbyterian minister but a free
thinker.
22-122 Matti Myllykoski, University of Helsinki
“Jewish Christians” in the British Discussion before Toland’s
Nazarenus
From the middle of the 17th century, British scholars and clergymen had lively discussions on beliefs and practices of the first
Christians, drawing mostly upon Acts and the letters of Paul. In
their writings, they were used to characterize the Jewish Jesusbelievers obedient to the Torah as “Jewish Christians.” It seems
likely that this term was used already in the beginning of the century. However, as far as I can see, these authors were not inclined
to apply the term “Jewish Christians” to their “heretic” Christian
contemporaries who imitated Jewish customs. There does not
seem to be evidence for such a self-designation either. It seems
that the theological term “Jewish Christianity” was coined only
by John Toland in his Nazarenus.
22-122 F. Stanley Jones, California State University-Long
Beach
The Genesis, Purpose, and Significance of J. Toland’s Nazarenus
Using a handwritten page found among Toland’s papers, this
study first traces the genesis of Toland’s Nazarenus from this
fragment through the discovery of the Gospel of Barnabas
and the recently recovered French version until the final English publication in 1718. This evolution is then interfaced with
Toland’s theological training and lively intellectual, literary, and
political career to identify the main intended purpose of Nazarenus as the promotion of religious toleration (the uncovering
and dismissal of prejudices). Finally, the lasting historical and
theological significance of Nazarenus for early Christian studies is located in its identification of the first Christians as Jewish
Christians = Ebionites = Nazoraeans and thus as the first heretics, a revolutionary insight that can be said to initiate modern
New Testament studies–one that F. C. Baur regained well over a
century later.
22-123 Ken Brown, Trinity Western University
Tabernacle, Sinai and the Beloved Son in John’s Prologue
Several recent monographs on the Temple in John (particularly those by Coloe, Kerr, Hoskins, and Um) have looked to the
prologue for evidence of Jesus’ “replacement” of the Taberna-
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cle, Temple or Torah, and have stressed the “polemical” tone of
1:14–18. Fuglseth has rightly argued against this approach (Johannine Sectarianism in Perspective), but his brief treatment of
this text leaves much still to be said. He is correct that John’s
allusions to the Tabernacle and Sinai are not intended to show
the “replacement” of any particular Jewish institution, but they
are extremely significant, for they serve to tie the man Jesus to
the divine identity in a way that is at once unprecedented and
in explicit continuity with the history of Israel. In the prologue,
Jesus is not “the new Tabernacle;” he is the incarnation of the
one that dwelled in the Tabernacle. On comparison with 12:41,
the prologue’s claim that “no one has ever seen God” (1:18a), but
“we have seen his glory” (1:14c) is not a polemic against Moses, but an affirmation that the very same glory that was seen by
Moses has now become flesh. Moreover, John’s allusions to the
beloved son tradition (monogenes; cf. also Levenson, Death and
Resurrection of the Beloved Son ), suggest that it is primarily
through Jesus’ death and resurrection that the “grace and truth”
revealed to Moses are fully seen, or rather, embodied: “no one
has ever seen God, but the only son, (himself) God, has made
him known” (1:18).
22-123 Mary Spaulding, Nazarene Bible College
Transformation or Termination? The Johannine Feast of Booths
and Jewish-Christian Identity Issues
One may well argue that the Johannine author portrays the replacement of the Jerusalem temple by Jesus in chapter 2. This
passage is setting the stage for other Jewish motifs subsequently
presented in the Gospel. Is it also setting a pattern of replacement for these motifs? If continued identity with Judaism is
alleged on the basis of Christological fulfillment of Jewish motifs, on what grounds can one speak of fulfillment but not of
replacement when replacement has already been established?
This paper will utilize Social Memory Theory with regard to the
Johannine Feast of Booths (Sukkot) to explore this conundrum.
A review of Jewish festival associations pre- and post-70 will
first be undertaken. After the destruction of the temple, templedependent memory and identity associations were transferred
onto other festival elements in order to foster continued Jewish identity structures among co-religionists. For the author of
John, the Feast of Booths provided a rich mosaic of Jewish associations. We will explore how the temple-dependent Booths
rituals are layered with new Christological symbolism in such a
way as to transform the rituals’ value for Jewish Christ-followers without negating their prior worth. Jesus is not symbolically
replacing the festival itself but only the outstanding elements of
the festival that are no longer viable without a temple, paralleling
similar transference techniques employed by other Jews of that
time. Social Memory Theory provides a sociological explanation
as to how the Johannine author could portray replacement of the
temple institution in John chapter 2 yet permit continued festival
memory and identity associations among Jewish Christ-followers in later chapters. The study confirms a Johannine acceptance
of Judaism in its transformed Christological state rather than its
abrogation, providing support for the position that the Johannine Gospel portrays a Christianity that has not yet decisively
broken with Judaism.
22-123 Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa
“Hoi Ioudaioi” Revisited
A group referred to as “hoi ioudaioi” plays a major role in the
Gospel of John, primarily though not exclusively as Jesus’ major antagonists and opponents. At first glance, the appropriate
translation of this term might seem obvious: “hoi ioudaioi” are
clearly “the Jews,” who were a definable and well-known group
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in both Judea and the Diaspora in the late first century, to which
the Fourth Gospel is usually dated. Nevertheless, there has been
an ongoing debate as to whether “the Jews” is in fact the best
translation, given its usage in the Gospel and, more generally,
the nomenclature in the first century. This paper will a) engage
in a critical analysis of the debate, with particular attention to the
most recent contributions by scholars such as Mason, Schwartz,
Cohen, and Runesson, b) offer its own solution, and c) consider
what is at stake for our understanding of “hoi ioudaioi” in the
narrative and theology of the Fourth Gospel.
22-123 Max Rogland, Erskine Theological Seminary
Lawlessness, Idolatry, and Apostasy in Deuteronomy and 1 John:
An Old Message in a New Setting
This study of 1 John focuses particular attention on the description of sin as “lawlessness” (3.4) and on the warning against
“idolatry” in the epistle’s concluding verse (5.21). There appears
to be little consensus within Johannine scholarship in regard
to the meaning of these opaque statements and their function
within the letter’s overall message. This paper argues that the
exegesis of these verses can be substantially clarified and their
purpose within the epistle delineated much more precisely when
they are read in light of the Book of Deuteronomy and its exposition of the subject of apostasy. It is argued that these Johannine
statements are in fact to be understood as instances of Biblical
intertextuality: the author of 1 John is intentionally “echoing”
terms and concepts from the Book of Deuteronomy which support his stern warnings against the sin of apostasy (e.g. 5.16–17).
The author of 1 John is thus re-appropriating Deuteronomy’s
perspective on unbelief and apostasy for the early Christian
communities, with specific application to their confession of Jesus as “the true God and eternal life” (5.20).
22-124 George P. Carras, Washington and Lee University
Moses, Torah and Rabbinic Echoes in Josephus’ Diaspora Jewish
Summary—Against Apion 2.190–219
My interest is in Josephus as a writer under Flavian rule in Rome
and the impact this may have had on his ideas, formulations,
and views as an author, writer and apologist for Judaism in the
Hellenistic Diaspora. I plan to investigate Bk 2 of Against Apion from this specific perspective. In particular, the paper will
consider Josephus’ Against Apion 2.190–2.19 and investigate
rabbinic connections between Josephus and the rabbis in this
Hellenistic document. The practice of considering AgAp in relation to Jewish Hellenistic documents (notably Philo’s Hypthetica
and the Ps.-Phocylides) is well-known. The most recent translation and commentary on AgAp (Against Apion, vol. 10 in series)
in more than 80 years by John Barclay of the University of Durham includes an appendix on potential sources of the document
Bk 2.145–296 (*). He investigates Diaspora sources and a few
that are Judean. What is striking however is that he does not
investigate rabbinic connections. Indeed, one of the last studies to draw connections to rabbinic ideas in relation to AgAp
2.190–219 was Geza Vermes and this study appeared in 1982.
In light of the recently produced commentary and translation
by Barclay, it is timely to raise the question of connections and
allusions to a body of material not considered, the rabbinic ideas
in AgAp 2.190–219. First, most would agree that in some measure the paragraphs reflect admonitions drawn from a pool of
Jewish traditions, Diaspora or Judean in nature. Second, rabbinic affinities are worth investigating since in Josephus’ Life
he claimed that as part of his education he gained expertise in
the philosophic schools and among them was the Pharisees. I
have isolated nineteen paragraphs in which rabbinic echoes are
present in AgAp. I will first isolate the material and determine
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each idea’s literary trajectory—the idea’s origin and affinities in
relation to shared rabbinic ideas. Then I will determine their
relevance for a few literary, religious and historical issues surrounding Josephus as a Diaspora Hellenistic writer. For example,
does the summary of the law reflecting rabbinic overtures share
roots in Josephus’ early past—his Pharisaic dabbling? According to the Life he considered a few of the philosophical schools
including the Pharisees but rejected them all before returning
to Pharisaic ideals. Has the literary architecture of Jewish summary (AgAp 2.190ff) been recast for Diaspora sensibilities? If so,
can reasons be postulated for inclusion of rabbinic echoes? Does
the inclusion of rabbinic ideas inform us about issues of audience: Judean, non-Judean or both? Do the rabbinic echoes tell
us anything about the degree to which Josephus was bound to
Judaism during the period of his Roman Flavian allegiance? The
paper will contribute to contextualizing Josephus within ancient
Roman world and help illuminate specific issues relevant to Josephus and rabbinic studies.
22-124 Dorit Gordon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
From Insults and Name-calling to Priests and Mitzvot in Rome:
Whom is Against Apion Against?
In Against Apion Josephus fulfills his AJ XX 268 (and other
places) commitment to write a treatise “on the opinions that we
Jews hold concerning God, as well as concerning the laws”—laws
which were given by “our lawgiver Moses” (CA II 145); yet the
version of the composition as it has reached us shows changes
from Josephus’ original plans. In Against Apion Josephus does
tell us a lot about Moses the Lawgiver and his Torah, and about
the importance of observing the innovative, unique and clever
laws given by him to the People of Israel. What does Josephus’
intensive apology as to the slanders against Moses and his laws
tell us? Who actually is Josephus’ audience for his detailed descriptions of ancient, remote Alexandrian and others Exodos
and Temple stories and storytellers, against whom he argues
so acutely, fiercely and sarcastically? What can their relevance
to 1st century Rome be? Why does Josephus keep emphasizing
so emphatically the fact that he himself is a Priest, and why is
the priestly class and the Jerusalem Temple ritual stories so central in this treatise, now that the Temple, with the priestly class
which once used to run it according to the Mosaic Law and to be
the leaders and the representatives of the People of Israel before
the Roman rule, do not exist anymore? (Nonetheless, the tradition of Moses being born to the tribe of Levi is not emphasized
by Josephus.) And then: how are all these issues connected? I
will show the problems in the way Josephus presents in Contra
Apionem the famous Greek Rhetor Apollonius Molon who lived
in the 1st century B.C. as being one of the most harsh “AntiSemites,” a slanderer of Moses and his Laws, and the source
for libels against the Temple, its rituals and its priests (including “The First Blood Libel in History”); and how the questions
above-mentioned are answered through the analysis of Josephus’
description of Molon’s hostility, and through a comparison with
The Life—Vita Josephi ‘davka’: I am suggesting a comparison
between these two very different, yet very similar!—short, late
works, a comparison which usually is very little done.
22-124 David M. Miller, Briercrest College
The Mosaic Legislation on Prophets in Antiquities 4.218
In his summary of the Mosaic constitution (A.J. 4.196–302),
Josephus omits Deuteronomy’s legislation about prophets, but
inserts an enigmatic reference to a “prophet” in his paraphrase of
Deut 17:8–13. The “prophet” who, according to A.J. 4.218, participates in the Jerusalem high court along with the high priest
and gerousia, has been variously regarded as another term for
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the high priest, or as representing the scribes or the Pharisees.
This paper builds on Sarah Pearce’s argument that the “prophet”
is to be understood in the first place as Joshua, and that the passage presents this system of government as an ideal. A review
of the use of “prophet” (p??f?t??) in Josephus demonstrates that
the historian consistently distinguished prophets such as Joshua
from priests and kings; it also suggests that Josephus understood
Deuteronomy 18 as a prediction of a succession of prophets,
and, finally, that he intended A.J. 4.218 as a summary of Deuteronomy 18:15–22 as well as 17:8–13.
22-124 Anna C. Miller, Harvard University
Moses in the Ekklesia: Josephus’ Use of Democratic Discourse
In Josephus’ Antiquities, Moses, the great orator, bravely addresses the angry ekklesia as it levels accusations of tyranny
against him. His political acumen lies in his ability to speak
frankly, yet persuasively, to the democratic assembly as he copes
with the challenge of unrest and division. Meanwhile, his opponent Korah rhetorically opposes him on issues such as the
nature of freedom and legitimacy of leadership. Except for the
names, we might mistake these figures for Greek political leaders, speaking in the context of the civic assembly, the ekklesia.
That these descriptions instead apply to biblical figures in the
writing of a first-century Jew proves intriguing. Flavius Josephus liberally employs the political language and dynamics of
the Greek ekklesia in his retelling of key scenes from the Bible
featuring Moses. As part of Josephus’ translation project in the
Antiquities, Josephus transforms the tongue-tied Moses of the
biblical narrative into a gifted orator with all the skills of someone well-versed in democratic practice. In this paper, I consider
Josephus’ portrayal of Moses as a democratic leader during the
Korah episode, and explore how this portrayal remains in conversation with Moses’ more traditional attributes as prophet and
lawgiver. Through this examination, I argue that we can deepen
our understanding of Josephus’ engagement with Greek literature and culture. At the same time, Josephus’ depiction of Moses
in these key scenes from the Antiquities serves to substantiate
the liveliness of a Greek democratic discourse centered on the
ekklesia in the first century C.E.
22-125 Monica J. Melanchthon, Gurukul Lutheran Theological College
Slumdog Despair: Taking Dalit Laments to Church
An increased awareness of contemporary suffering had led to
the appreciation of the lament tradition in the Hebrew Bible.
A study of its varied roles and functions has contributed to its
recognition as ‘literature of survival’ (Linafelt), an indispensable human heritage that provides the means for survival for a
suffering community. Dalit poetry is a dissenting collective that
articulates the silent anguish and indignation of the so-called
‘untouchables’ relegated to the bottom of the caste hierarchy for
more than thirty centuries. It is a literature of frustration, revolt and/or lament and agony which is redrawing the map of
literature in India by discovering and exploring a whole new
continent of experience that has so far been left to darkness and
silence. But there has been insufficient research into the implications of mainstreaming these songs of militant grief and lament
into the Dalit theology of Indian Christianity or any other religion and into the worship life of the Indian church. Drawing on
insights from studies on the Hebrew laments, their political and
social uses and significance, my paper will investigate the use
and efficacy of Dalit lament poems for Dalit theology and the
life of the Indian church. Does the lament have a place in Dalit
resistance against caste tyranny? How can these laments, be/can
be a resource to the community? What are the political possibili-
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ties in the lament especially when the lament is mourning over
political, economic, social and possibly even divine injustice? I
do believe that the lament poetry of the Dalits has the potential
for functioning as a counter hegemonic discourse that shapes
the reality of Dalits, and a form of activism that can impinge on
the church and its theology.
22-126 Jason Coker, Drew University
(Sub)alternative: The Subaltern Identities of James and Paul in
the Roman Empire
In the field of Subaltern Studies, scholars attempt to construct a
history from below that emphasizes the most marginalized people in a society. Gayatri Spivak is famous for problematizing the
marginalized by showing how hierarchical structures exist within oppressed societies, i.e. the oppressed within the oppressed.
Using this framework, I will read James and Paul as competing
subaltern identities within the dominant Roman Empire. Each
provides a “subalternative” identity within the marginalized early Jewishness of the first century. In an attempt to construct an
identity in relation to the Roman Empire, both James and Paul
negotiate cultural border lines. James argues for a more conservative, nativist position while Paul radicalizes and/or hybridizes
Jewish identity. In this way, they offer (sub)alternative identities
for their constituencies. This process of negotiation also reveals
the palimpsest that was Jewishness and Christianness in the first
century.
22-126 Jason Whitlark, Baylor University
Emphutos Logos: A New Covenant Motif in the Letter of James
Studies on the “implanted word” in the letter of James fall into
two trajectories. One proposed trajectory sets this term against
the background of Stoic philosophy as a reference to natural reason common to all humans. The other sets this term against the
background of the Christian proclamation of the gospel internalized by the Christian community. The argument in this paper
attempts to further the latter trajectory by arguing that the “implanted word” motif is an enablement motif grounded in new
covenant thinking. To this end, this paper will argue that the
Letter of James assumes a pessimistic anthropology and that emphutos in the pagan, Jewish, and, espeicially, the early Christian
contexts was understood as an enablement motif for the moral
and religious life.
22-126 Mariam J. Kamell, University of St. Andrews-Scotland
Endurance unto Salvation: The Witness of 1 Peter and James
Both First Peter and James speak about the link between endurance and salvation, and yet in deference to the Pauline epistles,
rarely is this mentioned except as an aside in most theological
writings. Their witness is seen as “secondary” in most systematic
work. These two epistles, however, have a remarkable amount of
overlap, even simply in their first chapters, regarding the theme
of endurance and its central importance for salvation. In 1 Peter
1:6–9, the author concedes that his audience will “have to suffer grief ” but assures them that they “are receiving the goal of
faith, the salvation of your souls.” Trials, he states, have come so
that faith might be “proved.” James encourages joy in the “testing” of faith that believers might become “mature and complete”
(1:3–5). Those who persevere will “receive the crown which is
life” (1:12). For both authors the reality of a “variety of trials” (1
Pet 1:6; Jas 1:2) leads to calls for endurance for salvation. Endurance relates to “holding fast” to the faith despite trials but also
indicates obedience in holiness. 1 Peter 1:14–15 warns his readers not to conform to their sinful “desires” but rather reminds
them of God’s holiness and subsequent commands to “be holy.”
He describes their redemption (1:17–21) and from this reminds
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them of the reality of their purification (1:22) and calls them
to restore their purity (2:1). Likewise James warns his audience
against their desires as the path to death. Instead, he reminds
them again of their redemption (1:17–18) as a result of which
they should purify themselves (1:21) and seek to worship God
in purity and service (1:27). The sheer congruence of vocabulary
and ideas within the introductory chapter of each text validates a
comparison of their theologies of endurance for salvation.
22-126 Mark D. Mathews, University of Durham
The Question of Genre Concerning 2 Peter: A Comparison with
Jewish and Early Christian Testaments
2 Peter is now generally accepted as belonging to the so-called
testament genre and is consequently regarded as a pseudoapostolic letter. Previous studies have attempted to relate the
letter to the farewell discourses and independent testaments of
the Second Temple period in order to demonstrate its pseudepigraphical nature. However, these studies offer no sustained
comparison of the features of these documents in relation to 2
Peter. Moreover, recent scholarship has questioned whether the
independent testaments are Jewish or Christian documents or
whether they reflect significant Christian interpolations. If these
testaments are the product of the early church or contain Christian additions, we can now suggest that the early Christians were
familiar with the so-called genre. Moreover, we can learn what
they would have regarded as a testament. The present essay compares the testamentary features of 2 Peter against these farewell
discourses and independent testaments to see whether the present view of 2 Peter as a testament is a sustainable argument.
22-127 Tamar Zewi, University of Haifa
The Particles Hinneh and Wehinneh in Several Bible Translations
The particles hinneh and wehinneh in Biblical Hebrew convey
several meanings and fulfill several syntactic roles. This linguistic diversity is sometimes rendered in Bible translations literally
and idiomatically, namely, by frozen uniform translations. Other
Bible translations are more sensitive to these various meanings,
syntactic roles, and their nuances. This paper intends to examine
the reflection of the linguistic diversity in the use of hinneh and
wehinneh in various Bible translations and its contribution to
the understanding of Biblical Hebrew Syntax.
22-127 Steven E. Runge, Logos Bible Software
The Effect of Redundancy on Perceptions of Emphasis and Discontinuity
There has been a tendency to associate prominence or “emphasis” with a word or collocation with little regard for discourse
context. Information structure has significantly clarified such
notions using the concepts of topicalization and marked focus,
demonstrating that is it the status of the information in the discourse context that brings about the various effects, rather than
an inherent property of the word itself. However, a number of
other areas associated with emphasis are unexplained by information structure. This paper contends that the contextual factor
of redundancy plays a significant role in bringing about effects
traditionally associated with emphasis. In many cases, the redundant element has the secondary effect of creating or drawing
attention to a discontinuity. These two factors form the basis of
a cognitive framework describing the process by which readers
construe the various pragmatic effects of redundancy as reflecting discontinuity and/or emphasis. The heuristic value of this
framework is illustrated by application to the prophetic formulae hwhy rm) hk, clause-medial vocatives of address, mid-speech
quotative frames where there has been no change of speakers,
and the use/disuse of the object marker in the case of multiple
objects.
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22-127 Kirk E. Lowery, The Groves Center
Hebrew Interjections and the Grammar of Emotion
“Emphasis” in texts often comes from the emotions of the speaker/writer. In the Hebrew Bible, the word class “interjection” is
used to express emotion. This paper examines this part of speech
from a syntactic and text linguistic perspective. Syntactic features such as length of clause, word order, presence or absence
of other clause constituents are examined in the context of the
surrounding text, and whether the interjection is its own freestanding clause or functions as a clause constituent itself. These
features and distributions are correlated to the emotions being
expressed. All interjections are examined, the features and correlations being tabulated in a summary handout. It turns out that
“interjection” is not a morphological word class, but a semantic
and syntactic word class; some lemmas should be reclassified;
most interjection clauses are nominal clauses lacking subjects;
some are used adverbially or as imperatives.
22-127 Paul Korchin, University of Alaska
Grammaticalization and the Biblical Hebrew Pseudo-Cohortative
Scholars of Biblical Hebrew (BH) have long been puzzled by the
nearly one hundred ostensible instances of the cohortative form
(1cs ?eqt?lâ / 1cp niqt?lâ) that conform neither to the normative
volitive functions evidenced elsewhere in BH, nor to the cognate Northwest Semitic (yaqtula) paradigm extending at least
as far back as the 14th Century BCE Amarna Letters. The vague
consensus is that these BH “pseudo-cohortatives” (Waltke and
O’Connor 1990, 576) constitute an increasingly frequent—albeit
essentially optional—indicative divergence from the paradigm’s
volitive core. But a close morphosyntactic analysis of such forms
instead reveals a consistent functional value signifying centrifugal (a.k.a., itive, andative) orientation of the verbal action with
respect to the deictic center (usually the speaker/agent) of the
given syntagm. The origin of this function, furthermore, is traceable to the linguistic process of grammaticalization, whereby the
most frequently attested BH cohortative form constructed upon
the motion lexeme hlk (“to go”) underwent reanalysis, erosion,
and reapplication as a centrifugal morpheme.
22-129 Andries van Aarde, University of Pretoria
Matthew Studies Today: A Willingness of Suspect and a Willingness to Listen
The aim of the paper is to describe the stand of Matthew Studies by means of Paul Ricoeur’s notion of a hermeneutical arc of
pre-figuration, con-figuration en re-figuration. In the paper this
hermeneutical approach focuses on (1) the role of intertexts before Matthew (Paul, Mark and the Sayings Gospel Q) and after
Matthew (writings from the Ebionite Christian tradition), (2)
the texture of Matthew and (3) the readers’ reception of Matthew. This description consists of aspects from recent Matthew
Studies such as: (1) the socio-historical context and (2) the political contexts of the first and present readers. These contexts
function as lenses through which to view this hermeneutical
arc. The political dimension is approached from (1) gender, (2)
postcolonial and (3) empire-studies perspectives. All of these are
facets in current Matthew Studies. The socio-historical contextual dimension is approached from the perspective of the role
in the interpretation of Matthew played by aspects such (1) the
understanding of the destruction of the Israelite temple-state,
(2) the probable social location and constitution of the Matthean
community, (3) apocalyptic-sectarian theories and (4) marginalisation theories. These aspects provide a preview of facets in
Matthew Studies that could become prominent in future.
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22-129 Craig S. Keener, Palmer Theological Seminary of
Eastern University
Some Possible Directions to Explore in Matthew’s Milieu
This paper explores some sample current directions in study of
the social world of early Christianity with possible application
to Matthew. These include insights from Greco-Roman rhetoric
and the rhetoric of ancient Jewish sages (though the latter, more
often explored with respect to Matthew, remains more pertinent
than the former). Ancient medical sources and crosscultural
anthropological research also sheds light on disease, spirit-possession and healing in Matthew and the other Gospels.
22-129 Ben Witherington, III, Asbury Theological Seminary
Wise and Sagacious Vistas: The Past and Future of a Sapiential
Reading of Matthew
After reviewing past efforts to read Matthew through the lens
of Jewish wisdom literature, I intend to suggest several fruitful
ways this conversation can be carried forward. For example, Law,
as Sirach shows, comes to be subsumed under the larger rubric
of God’s revealed wisdom of various sorts in Wisdom literature.
When Jesus offers his disciples a yoke with a light burden, as opposed to the heavy burdens of the Pharisees and others, he is not
contrasting himself with Moses, but with the latter day interpreters of Moses which is to say with Pharisaic scribes and sages. He
is also not offering his disciples a law free burden either. Rather
as Emmanuel, (Wisdom come in the flesh), he is offering them a
chance to take up the Law of Christ, encapsulated in the Sermon
on the Mount and elsewhere. What matters more in this portrait
of Jesus is that he is greater than Solomon, the ultimate sage, not
that he is greater than Moses, for Jesus is being portrayed as a
wise King, honored by wise kings, not as merely the latter day
prophet Moses’ foresaw.
22-129 Roland Deines, University of Nottingham
From the Center to the Margins: German Speaking Scholarship
on Matthew’s Gospel as a Case Study for Matthean Scholarship
as a Whole
Matthean scholarship was once booming and one of the centers
of New Testament research. And it’s probably not just a biased
prejudice when a German scholar claims that the initial thrust
behind the heyday of Matthean scholarship, in the early second
half of the 20th century, came from German-writing scholars
such as Bornkamm, Frankemölle, Hummel, Strecker, Walker
and many more. Since then, however, it appears that these former
glories have largely vanished: Matthean studies have relinquished
their prominence within the study of the New Testament and
the understanding of early Christianity. What was once at the
center has become marginal and even a bit isolated. One can get
the impression that the study of Matthew’s Gospel is just one of
(too) many subsections of New Testament studies and hardly the
most inspiring and important one. German scholarship on Matthew mirrors this trend in that more recent German speaking
scholarship (with some exceptions, of course) has proven itself
to be methodologically dependent on and influenced to a large
degree by predominantly anglo-saxon scholarship. This is not
to say that this influence on German scholarship forced it to the
periphery. But it could be taken as indicative of a a decline in
creativity and originality. The paper seeks to explore what might
be the reason for this decline, or, put more provocatively, ‘Why
did Matthean scholarship become so boring?’ The answer I am
seeking to defend is that Matthew was once thought to be an
authentic and reliable source for Jesus and Christian discipleship. The influence of the first Gospel from the second century
to the twentieth cannot be overestimated. But at this point in
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time Matthew has to a large extent been reduced to his specific
profile (as a result of the strong influence of redactional criticism) and, related to it, to the questions regarding his own resp.
his community’s relation to Judaism. In other words, Matthew is
mainly used as a source for the conflict-laden situation between
Jews, Jewish-Christians and non-Jewish followers of Jesus Christ
in the time between 70 and 90 C.E. My thesis is therefore: The
understating of Matthew’s theological and canonical meaning,
partly because of his insistance upon topics which are considered embarrassing for a politically correct Christianity, stands at
the heart of his historical domestication and, as a result of it, his
marginalization.
22-131 Steven Leonard Jacobs, University of Alabama
Hurricane Katrina through the Lens of Genesis 6–9 (‘The Noah
Story’): Towards a Divine/Jewish Theology of Natural and Unnatural Disasters
The construction of “theology” has long been viewed in Judaic
circles, at least prior to the modern moment, as falling within
the purview of Christianity (Jews historically and contemporarily preferring the more intellectually envisioned “philosophy”
instead); and so-called “biblical theology,” more often than not,
as the “sacred domain” of fundamentalist/evangelical Christianities. The Noah story as manifested in Genesis 6–9 within the
context of an SBL meeting in New Orleans in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina (29/30 August 2005) provides us with a opportunity to construct a Jewish theology of so-called “natural
disasters” and “unnatural disasters” by re-visiting the story itself
and re-examining post-biblical/rabbinic (and other) commentators. What are the lessons to be learned directly theologically
from this story, if at all? What are the lessons to be learned directly theologically from the midrashic/commentary traditions,
if at all? Are they relevant to us today as the world increasingly
confronts both natural disasters (e.g. global warming vis-à-vis
Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”) and unnatural disasters (e.g.
the rise in global anti-Semitism and genocides)? This contribution is an initial attempt to confront both texts and questions.
22-131 Shawn Zelig Aster, Yeshiva University
Isaiah 19: The “burden of Egypt” and Neo-Assyrian Imperial
Policy
A variety of dates have been suggested for the prophecy entitled
“the burden of Egypt” in Isaiah 19. The prophecy describes the
visitation of Divine wrath against Egypt and the spiritual meaning the victims derive from this visitation. The prophecy is
related to the Assyrian threat to Egypt in the time of Tiglath-Pileser III, and is dependant on motifs from his inscriptions. This
suggests an eighth century date for the prophecy. Specific events
mentioned seem to respond specifically to Neo-Assyrian assertions of sovereignty. Prime among these is the establishment of
a monument to YHWH on the border of Egypt, and other elements from the repertoire of Neo-Assyrian motifs. Moreover, the
reaction to the arrival of YHWH (19:2–4) closely parallels the
reaction to melammu found in Assyrian royal inscriptions: the
enemy is confounded, terrified, and unable to fight. The prophecy is not solely dependent on Neo-Assyrian imagery. It also
incorporates elements from the Exodus 5–15 narrative. These
include the drying up of water sources (19:5–10); the use of the
phrase yd’ ‘t YHWH (19:21), which serves as a repeated motif
in the Exodus narrative; the description of a “savior” (19:20);
and the description of plagues and pleading (19:22). The use of
Exodus elements and Neo-Assyrian imagery in this prophecy
serve to underscore its central motif: the universal acceptance
of the sovereignty of YHWH, which is expressed in vv. 22–25.
The Exodus elements emphasize the idea that divine plagues
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led to Egyptian acceptance of YHWH as sovereign, while the
neo-Assyrian elements emphasize the idea of a single universal
sovereign. The unified theme in the prophecy may lead us to
re-think our understanding of how the narratives we know from
the Pentateuch circulated in eighth-century Judah.
22-131 Naama Zahavi-Ely, College of William and Mary
Drought Liturgy in the Hebrew Bible and in Later Judaism
Batzorot—years of insufficient rainfall—are unfortunately endemic in the Land of Israel. Just as in New Orleans people watch
the season’s hurricane forecast, so in Israel people watch for rain
and keep track of the amount that has fallen and the degree to
which the soil has received the all-important moisture, crucial
for the raising of crops. This is the case even in our time, when
food can easily be imported from other parts of the world; all
the more so in the past, when a year of drought meant famine.
In the Hebrew Bible, rain is firmly in God’s hands. Surprisingly
enough, though, we don’t find requests for rain in the book of
Psalms (unlike, say, healing from sickness or prevailing against
foes). It is highly unlikely that people did not pray to God for
rain, especially in years of drought; and prayers for rain are listed
among those mentioned by Solomon in the I Kings 8. We find
prayers for rain appearing early and prominently in post-Biblical Jewish practice, in the Temple and elsewhere, both in halacha
and in stories like that of Soni Hame’agel. There are numerous
and early Jewish piyyutim (religious poetry) asking for rain.
Jeremiah 14 contains text that may have originated as drought
liturgy pleading for rain (Jeremiah 14:2–9 and 19–22). Poems
can be extremely effective in secondary use. For example, “Al
Hashchita” by Bialik, written about the pogrom of Kishinev of
1903, can be and is used regularly in public ceremonies to express the horror of the Holocaust. Another example is Britten’s
War Requiem, which combines Owen’s poetry with traditional
liturgical texts. So also in Jeremiah: a text that may have originally been composed for a particular drought is used to illustrate
God’s anger and the destruction of Jerusalem.
22-131 Deborah Gordon Friedrich, Independent Scholar
Making Rain
Geshem and Tal, the prayers for rain and dew in due season,
are the best known Jewish liturgies for precipitation that comes
at the right time and in the optimal amount for the bounty and
prosperity of a good agricultural year in ancient Israel, but this
paper will also include discussion of other passages dispersed
throughout the annual liturgical cycle which deal with the flow
of G-d’s benevolent shefa to our potentially sacred earth, and
with human stewardship, and kavvanah in prayer, which can
help to strengthen men and women in partnership with the divine creator.
22-131 Zev Garber, Los Angeles Valley College
Tikkun ‘Olam, Tikkun ‘Atsmi; “Repairing the World” by “Restoring the Self ”
Returning to the City of Katrina,and remembering the untold
human suffering on its shore, one asks, how do loyalists to Sinai and Calvary reconcile Heaven’s wrath on earthly shores? Is
the Intelligent One an Evil Designer with tens of thousands of
victims and survivors as evidence? Scripturally,how may one
understand Gen 6 in light of Gen 1–2 in context and against the
ravages of nature and nature’s G-d? In sum, where is G-d in our
shared tragedies?
22-132 Giovanni Battista Bazzana, University of Toronto
Knock and It Will Be Opened. The Contribution of Documentary
Papyri to New Testament Exegesis
The third and final part of Q 11:9 (“knock and it will be opened
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to you”) is routinely dismissed in commentaries as nothing
more than a repetition of the more significant and theologically
evocative references to seeking and asking. In the present paper
I will show how a comparison with documentary papyri may
turn the interpretation of this passage in a new and more fruitful direction. One can observe that the Greek term, employed
in the Q verse to indicate the act of knocking (krouo), appears
in the fragmentary papyrus BGU 3, 1007: in this document, of
Ptolemaic age, a man files a complaint about a group of people,
who entered forcibly his house during night-time and destroyed
the door. A wider recognition of literary sources shows that the
verb is technically employed in similar situations and, even if its
characterization is not so negative, it often evokes a feeling very
far from gentle politeness.The comparison may have important
consequences on the interpretation of 11:9 in itself and in the
context of Q. A less “polite” reading of the verse may fit well into
the general tone of the Sayings Gospel, in which one notes other
puzzling references to violence and, for instance, to the fact that
the kingdom of God is “plundered by the violent.” Moreover, the
scene depicted in BGU 3, 1007 closely resembles that appearing
in Lk 11:5–8, the so called parable of “the friend at midnight,”
who obtains fulfilment of his request through his anaideia. The
similarity of this pericope to Q 11:9 and its dissimilarity from
the usages of krouo in other passages of the Lukan writings may
even lead to hypothesize that the parable was originally part of
the Sayings Gospel and not of the Lukan special material.
22-132 Christina M. Kreinecker, Universität Salzburg
Transferring Jesus: Papyrological Observations on the Passion
Narratives
In the Passion Stories of the Gospels it is not possible to identify
a definite juridical procedure as historical. But with the help of
documentary papyri and ostraca at least a juridical terminology
can be distinguished from a theological one. Words and phrases, which are used to describe arrests, imprisonments, transfer
of accused, executions etc. in ancient papyri can be contrasted
with the use in the Gospels. It can be shown that the New Testament authors differ from each other not only in their theological
program but also in their knowledge of juridical terms and legal matters. This paper provides an analysis of the terminology
used for every kind of “transfer of Jesus” during his passion as
described in the Gospels: from Gethsemani to the high-priest,
from the high-priest to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod and back
again (Luke), and finally from Pilate to the crucifixion. Not only
the papyrological background for the Greek terms of “transfer”
will be given, but also the particular use in each of the Gospels.
Especially Luke’s use is remarkable and worth a closer look: the
verb ἀναπέμπω, e.g., is found in the papyri for official “orders
of transfer” (so called “Überstellungsbefehle”). This observation
leads to several questions: Luke uses a term that is found in an
official context in the papyri: Does this refer to a special knowledge or interest of legal actions? Does this include a historical
“fundamentum in re” for Jesus’s hearing before Herod even if the
other authors do not mention it? Furthermore, Luke presents
through his verbal use a clear structure of “hierarchy” of those
people who are involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. The observations and questions will be discussed from a papyrological,
historical and theological point of view.
22-132 Jeff Hubing, Northern Seminary
Redefining the Epistolary Form and Function of Galatians
6:11–17
This paper seeks to define the epistolary form and function of
Galatians 6:11–17 in a way that makes most sense of its location within the letter and its contribution to Paul’s argument. I
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will argue that this paragraph should be understood as the closing to the letter body of Galatians, and not as the letter closing.
This contention will be supported by offering a clearer picture
of how both of these letter segments (letter closing and bodyclosing) are identified and function in the Greek common letter
tradition as well as in Paul’s letters. The argument will be made
by first presenting evidence that challenges the nearly universal
conviction among commentators that Galatians 6:11–17 is formally part of the letter closing (together with 6:18). I will show
that the criteria that have been used to identify “letter closing
conventions” in this paragraph have been misapplied. Then, I
will present evidence to support the notion that the shape and
purpose of the passage should lead to its identification as the
closing to the letter body. I will show that when the criteria for
identifying the body-closing in the common letter tradition are
applied to this paragraph, the results are strikingly positive. This
will demonstrate that Galatians 6:11–17 is the closing to the letter body, which both recalls the heart of Paul’s message to the
Galatians and completes it by describing Paul’s definitive convictions on the matters of concern in the paragraph.
22-132 John G. Nordling, Concordia Theological Seminary-Fort Wayne
Does P.Turner 41 Support the Runaway Slave Hypothesis in
Philemon?
Many interpreters of Philemon have downplayed the possibility that Onesimus was a runaway slave (e.g., Knox 1959; Winter
1984; 1987; Lampe 1985; Callahan 1997) and suggested, furthermore, that Onesimus was little more than a menial in the
employ of his master Philemon (Arzt-Grabner 2003: 97). Some
have pointed out, however, that Onesimus could well have been
a highly trusted slave in Philemon’s employ (e.g., Nordling 2004:
144) and that highly responsible slaves who had access to the
master’s wealth were fully capable of betraying trusting masters
and mistresses sometimes without provocation. P.Turner 41.1–
21 supports the latter position. It features one Sarapion, slave of
Aurelia Sarapias, to whom the latter had entrusted her household affairs and even provided him “a place of honor” and “life’s
provision.” But what had that slave done? Obviously, we have to
take an outraged mistress’s word for it, but it seems Sarapion had
“stolen” from the household provisions and “run away secretly.”
The papyrus’s pertinence for a traditional interpretation of Philemon is obvious; it suggests, with other documents that paint a
similar picture, that the runaway slave hypothesis in Philemon
remains viable.
22-132 Roberta Mazza, University of California-Santa
Barbara
A Rosy Lotus for Antinoos: Hadrian, Egypt, and Roman Religions
The second century CE is crucial in the history of religions of the
Roman empire. While a number of ancient cults coming from
peripheral regions gained an empire-wide importance, new
forms of religiosity appeared on the imperial ‘religious market’.
In this panorama Egypt was already playing an important role,
as the success of Isis and Serapis demonstrate. The story of the
death and transformation into a god of Antinoos fits this context
well. Secondary literature on this topic tends either to concentrate on specific details of the complex episode, or to present
it in the wider context of Hadrian’s reign. This paper will approach the establishment and success of the cult of Antinoos in
order to contribute to a better understanding of the evolution
of Roman religions under the double impulse of center (Rome
and the emperor) and peripheries (Egypt and other provinces).
I will present a new analysis of the evidence, in particular: 1.
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the sources relating to the cult of Antinoos coming from Egypt
or directly related to Egypt. 2. the literary sources regarding
Hadrian’s attitudes towards Egyptian religious matters, Judaism,
and Christian groups. This will provide the opportunity to offer
a new interpretation of episodes such as the restoration of the
tomb of Pompey, which I see as related not only to the celebration of Roman tradition, but also to the memory of the Jewish
war under Trajan. The success of the cult of Antinoos has been
due to its capacity to take many different shapes in the different
contexts of the Roman empire. The analysis of this success will
shed new lights on early Christianity under two points of view:
1. The parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity; 2.
The historical context in which Christianity came to be part of
the Roman religious panorama.
22-135 Albert Geljon, Christelijk Gymnasium Utrecht
Sample Translation and Commentary on Philo, De Agricultura
1–25
In my paper I will present a sample translation and commentary
on Philo, Agr. 1– 25, which I have written, in collaboration with
D. T. Runia, as preparation for a full translation and commentary for the Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series. The paper
will contain an analysis of the passage, in which I examine its
main exegetical and philosophical themes, and also comments
on detailed aspects. The most important issue is the opposition
between a cultivator, of whom Noah is a symbol, and a worker of
the earth, represented by Cain. Philo’s elaboration of this theme
and its philosophical background will be discussed.
22-135 David T. Runia, Queen’s College, University of
Melbourne
The Structure of Philo’s Allegorical Treatise De Agricultura
It is generally agreed that Philo’s allegorical treatises are his
most difficult works. In order to read them, it is necessary to
understand the method of his often labyrinthine exegesis. Much
research has been done of this subject, but general agreement
has not been reached. In the present paper I will examine the
structure of the treatise De agricultura and show how it demonstrates various features of Philo’s exegetical method. Particular
attention will be paid to the theory of M. Adler, who many years
ago argued for an evolutionary view of how Philo wrote the sequence of treatises in his Allegorical commentary.
22-138 John Parrish, University of Toronto
Speaking in Tongues, Dancing with Ghosts: Religions of “Anywhere” and the Language of Resurrection
This essay provides a constructive critique and extension of
Jonathan Z. Smith’s writings on Paul and 1 Corinthians through
an exercise in comparison. Beginning with a demonstration of
the problems with applying Smith’s locative/utopian dichotomy to Paul and the Corinthians, I argue that this theoretical
scheme renders the Corinthians’ acceptance of Paul’s message
incomprehensible: the question of why the “locative” Corinthians would have been interested in Paul’s “utopian” ideology of
resurrection cannot be given a satisfactory answer. However,
Smith’s later scheme of “here, there, and anywhere” provides a
much more useful heuristic that CAN provide a helpful explanation of the Corinthians’ reception of Paul’s message. Following
an analysis of the social and religious setting of 1 Corintians, I
explore the analogous case of the 1870 Ghost Dance as it developed among the Paiute of Western Nevada. There, the Paiute
adopted resurrection language and apocalyptic ideology in response to colonial displacement, even though traditional Paiute
culture was unequivocally built upon a religion of “here.” After briefly discussing the implications of this analogy for our
understanding of the Corinthian Christ group (and early Chris72
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tianities generally), I conclude that both the Corinthians and the
Paiute are displaced religions of “here” that have experimented
with features characteristic of the religions of “anywhere” as part
of an intellectual and ritual strategy of “re-emplacement.” This
cross-cultural description provides our models of Paul and the
Corinthians with a sounder anthropological footing than they
might previously have had, while also providing two possible
test-cases for Smith’s influential “topography” of religion.
22-138 Jennifer Eyl, Brown University
From Assembly to Church: Ekklesia from Paul to Acts and Late
First Century Social Formation
This paper argues that the meaning of the word “ekklesia” changes from the time of Paul’s letters to the writing of Acts. First,
I argue that Paul’s use of the word is restricted to its semantic
range up to the mid first century, and that he uses the word in a
way that, more specifically, reflects its use in the LXX and in Philo. Here, I agree with Caroline Johnson Hodge that, rather than
spreading/creating a new religion called Christianity, Paul is
adopting gentiles into the family of Abraham, effectively making
them Jews (or, fictive “kin” to Jews). Secondly, I will demonstrate
that “ekklesia” in Acts bears new associations which point to the
formation of a new social identity (Christianos). These associations are then written back into Paul’s era by the author, which
contributes to the construction of a singular myth of origins for
Christianity. It is this singular myth of origins which compelled
Irenaeus to save Acts from obscurity and use it towards formulating Christian orthodoxy. Ultimately this paper intends to
address two issues: 1) the inadequacy of some translation practices in NT studies which obscure the processual development
of language and protect/preserve an essentialist Christian myth
of origins, and 2) the necessity of looking at this processual development to understand social formation.
22-138 Stephen Young, Brown University
A Kind of Judean Specialist: Theorizing a Redescription of the
Religiosity of James the Brother of Jesus
We often cripple our ability to deploy sources for studying the
religiosity of James the brother of Jesus through problematic assumptions about the proper goals of study. These assumptions
often coincide with internal Christian categories and the types of
intellectualist discursive-action concerns dominating the fields
of studying early Christianity: i.e., religiosity ultimately concerns
doctrines/beliefs and “actions” secondarily flowing from them;
intellectualist manipulations of texts and doctrines constitute
the essence of religiosity, etc. I propose some social-theoretical
and historical spadework to make possible a redescription of the
religiosity of James. First, I commence with the above concerns:
(A) bypassing internal Christian categories we often anachronistically retroject back onto early “Christian” figures and (B)
problematizing our implicit theoretical approaches that prioritize quests for doctrines, beliefs, intellectualist manipulations
of texts and doctrines, and other such discursively-oriented
practices of specialist cultural producers. Second, I pursue plausible cross-cultural categories to orient investigations of James
and other Jerusalem Judeans of the 1st century CE. I introduce
a typology relevant for categorizing kinds of Judean religiosity
in Jerusalem, particularly focusing on what might be termed
“everyday kinship-sacrificial religiosity.” As part of this I explore
a typology of the kinds of specialists and leaders within these
varying types of Judean religiosity. Third, I attempt a consciously theorized socially and historically plausible redescription of
James’ religiosity as a form of Jerusalem Judean religiosity. Here
I investigate my intuition of James as a specialist of some sort,
but operating in relation to a kind of everyday Judean kinship-
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sacrificial religiosity. While the entire paper remains necessarily
introductory, it hopefully demonstrates the productivity of such
a consciously re-theorized methodology. This project strives to
work out (not simply to “apply”) social theory, especially practice theories similar to those of Pierre Bourdieu and Theodore
Schatzki, through redescription of early “Christian” sites.
22-139 Frances Flannery, James Madison University
Ascents, Apocalypses, and Neuroscience: Moshe Idel and the
Study of Religious Experience
Throughout his many works, Moshe Idel has consistently interrogated academic boundaries drawn between mystical literature
and the practice of mysticism. This paper will examine the impact of this eminent scholar’s works on several facets of the study
of religious experience, especially his articulations of ascents, the
relationship of apocalypses and mysticism, and recent collaborations in neuroscience and mysticism. I will comment on several
volumes and articles, in particular: Kabbalah: New Perspectives
(Yale: 1990), The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia
(SUNY Press, 1988), Ascensions on High in Jewish Mysticism:
Pillars, Lines and Ladders (Central European University press,
2005) and Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah (SUNY Press: 2007).
22-139 Silviu N. Bunta, University of Dayton
Unio Mystica: The Bridging of Boundaries and Metatron in Late
Antiquity and Early Medieval Jewish Mysticism
This paper pursues Moshe Idel’s major contributions to the
study of Metatron, particularly in relation to Idel’s criticism
of Scholem’s insistence that there is no unio mystica in Jewish
mysticism. While Idel’s work has impacted the study of transformational mysticism quite significantly, his points still need to
be fully digested and appropriated by recent scholarship on the
topic, which is still largely dominated by Scholem’s paradigm.
22-139 Daphna Arbel, University of British Columbia
Moshe Idel and Religious Experience in the Hekhalot Context
Moshe Idel has written much on Hekhalot literature that has
influenced the study of religious experience. This review of his
work will address numerous texts in both Hebrew and English,
including his work on Enoch-Metatron and other Hekhalot
themes.
22-139 Felicia Waldman, University of Bucharest, Goren
Goldstein Center for Hebrew Studies
Moshe Idel’s Reading of the Talmudic Legend of the Four Sages
Who Entered the Pardes
Of the stories describing the adventures of the various rabbis from the glorious Talmudic era, the most famous, but also
the most exploited, is undoubtedly that of the “four sages who
entered the Pardes.” If in the Talmudic-Midrashic literature it
was used to point out the dangers and achievements that were
related to speculations, rather than experiences, and in the mystical literature it was used to point out the dangers that could
befall the mystic on his way to God, to the kabbalists Pardes was
an unexplained parable for an unrevealed secret, a generalized
metaphor for the danger zones of religious experience, seen as
something which was good for the few, but pernicious for others. This paper traces the manner in which Moshe Idel analyzes,
in his books and lectures, the meanings of this legend, taking
the reader on a fascinating journey in time and space, through
various types of kabbalistic thinking and even Maimonidean
philosophy.
22-140 Amy H. C. Robertson, Emory University
Ritual and Text, Ritual Through Text
Ritual theorists have rightfully argued for the distinction between
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a ritual act and a written description of (or prescription for) that
ritual act—certainly, the latter does not constitute a ritual. This
has served as an important corrective to biblical scholars who,
in studying ancient ritual activity, have understandably given a
great deal of weight to the primary object of study available to
us—the biblical text. This paper makes the suggestion that the
line between text and experience is not always so clear. While
texts about rituals do not replicate the experience of ritual activity, a text can, in fact, mimic the characteristics of ritual: just as
more or less ritualized behaviors can be identified through the
relative presence of specific features (e.g. repetition, formalism,
traditionalism, etc.), so too can a text be identified as more or
less ritualized by the presence of these features in literary form.
After a discussion of methodological issues through the engagement of literary and ritual theory, this paper uses the description
of the tabernacle in Exod 25–40 as an exemplar of such a ritualized text. Recognizing the ability of text to serve as raw material
in ritual experience—requiring no action other than reading—
broadens our understanding of the pool of ritual experiences
available in the biblical world, and allows for a conversation that
takes seriously the role of the biblical text in ritual experience.
22-140 Russell C. D. Arnold, DePauw University
Reading the Passover: Exodus 12–13 as Narrative, Law, and
Ritual
This paper will examine the complex text of Exodus 12:1–13:16
as an example of the multiple ways that texts function with respect to ritual practice. I will address three questions related to
text as narrative, as law, and as ritual. To what degree are ritual
texts descriptive of actual practices? How do such ritual texts
function prescriptively to guide behavior? What is the role of
text within the ritual performance itself, and how does it affect the ritual experience? After drawing attention to the ways
in which the Exodus text fulfills each of these roles, I plan to
raise some methodological questions about the ways that we approach ritual texts.
22-140 Daniel Belnap, Brigham Young University
Whence is that Goodly Fragrance? The Ritual Manipulation of
Scent in the Ancient Israelite Cultic System
The late Catherine Bell has stated that the process of ritualization was not so much to integrate the individual into a given
environment, but to change the environmental dynamics so
that the integration (or conversely, disintegration) of the social
body may occur. In other words, the rituals changed the environment, not the other way around. These changes would have
been experienced by the individual through his or her sensory
awareness. In the modern world, we are most familiar with ritualized sensory awarenesses through vision or hearing. Yet the
other senses are commonly manipulated to bring about certain
results as well. In ancient Israel, while the text concerning the
cultic ritual system is primarily studied through a visually oriented approach (spatiality between objects, description of height
or length, color, type of animal, etc), certain cultic events would
have had an extensive olfactory element. Three ritualized events,
in particular, could be understood better by recognizing the role
of scent in their enacting: 1) the slaughtering, dressing and then
burning of an animal, 2) the offering of incense, 3) the anointing
of the priests. By recognizing the role of scent manipulation in
these three ritual behaviors of ancient Israel, and the processes
in which they were manipulated, I believe that we can gain insight into one of the primary purposes of the cultic ritual system:
to facilitate the bridging of the divine and the mortal worlds.
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22-140 Risto Uro, University of Helsinki
Costly Signaling and Cooperation: An Evolutionary Approach to
Early Christian Rituals
Scholars of religion have long argued that religious rituals enhance group solidarity and internal cohesion. More recently,
behavioural ecologists and anthropologists, working from an
evolutionary perspective, have provided explanations for ritual
behavior that resemble the structural-functionalist interpretations of the past generation but also differ from them in some
crucial points. Among such evolutionary explanations is the
costly signaling theory: rituals promote group cohesion by requiring members to engage in behavior that is too costly to fake
(e.g., Irons 2001; Sosis 2003; Sosis and Alcorta 2003; Bulbulia
2007). The present paper discusses the potential use of the costly signaling theory in the study of early Christianity. How did
the ritual practices that emerged among early Christians, such
as baptism and “the Lord’s Supper,” signal the commitment to
the other members of the group? Did these rituals contribute
to the survival and spreading of early Christian beliefs? What
was the adaptive benefit of early Christian rituals as compared
to other religious cults in antiquity? The most direct evidence
for the ritual life of the earliest Christian communities comes
from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. In light of the information that we have in this letter, the level of costly signaling
was not particularly high. This state of things entailed other
kinds of mechanisms to overcome the free rider problem and
to maintain group cohesion. In Corinth, these included various
“policing” activities, such as the pronouncements of the divine
punishment (1 Cor 11:29; 16:22) or the excommunication of a
sexual offender (1 Cor 5:13). Moreover, religious emotions can
function as an important means to express commitment, which
could explain the frequency of charismatic phenomena among
the Corinthians. The costly signaling theory predicts that once
such phenomena calm down, a need for other kinds of signals of
trustworthiness arises.
22-140 Jason T. Lamoreaux, Brite Divinity School
Ritual in Justin Martyr’s First Apology: Entry Rites and Early
Christian Recruitment
The text of Apology 1.61–66 gives the most vivid glimpse into
the boundary breaking rituals of the early church. Like Paul, Justin utilizes images of death and rebirth in describing baptism,
but Justin adds vivid contrasts with illustrations of Judean and
Polytheistic rites that he claims pale in comparison. For Justin,
this juxtaposition is an apologetic for correct entry rite, while
all other entry rites are either false or imitative of the one true
baptism. Because ancients are collectivists, moving from one
group to another can be both violent and difficult. Therefore,
this study will utilize the works of Van Gennep and Turner as
a means of demonstrating how early Christ followers brought
people into their community and began the integration process.
Through the use of boundary breaking rituals, collectivists are
able to negotiate these boundaries and begin to integrate outsiders into the community as a whole. This reshapes new members
and begins the conversion process, making new members into
regular parts of an integrated community.
22-141 Karl Galinsky, University of Texas at Austin
In the Shadow (or not) of the Imperial Cult: A Cooperative
Agenda
The programs we have sponsored on early Christianity and the
imperial cult are but the beginning of a continuing dialogue.
That dialogue will benefit from informed contributions by both
ancient historians and NT scholars. I will focus on some essential issues that can be usefully explored further: (1) Clarity about
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methodology. What basic interpretations of the imperial cult
have been proposed by classicists and in what kind of contemporary and ancient contexts? Do NT scholars pursue a Tendenz
rather than try to establish some more historical facts about
the cult? (2) The variety of responses by Christians and others
to the phenomenon and its local circumstances. Here there is
considerable convergence: both classical and NT scholars have
emphasized the significance of local variations rather than deal
with the cult as a monolithic phenomenon. (3) The adaptive
transformation of the imperial cult in the later Christian empire.
Was this a victorious appropriation or a rejection of the shadowy
anti-imperial message that has been culled from Paul, John, and
Matthew? (4) The relative role of the imperial cult, and Christian
and other responses to it, within the broader spectrum of Roman imperial institutions and practices and Christian and other
responses to them. After all, the cult was not the only game in
town nor in the empire at large.
22-141 Warren Carter, Brite Divinity School
Roman Imperial Power: A Perspective from the New Testament
This paper identifies some of the ways in which twentieth-century NT scholarship has constructed the interaction between NT
texts and Roman imperial power, including the imperial cult.
This interaction ranges from invisibility and silence (neglect), to
“background” (also neglect), to antagonism grounded in a persecution model. It also examines work from the last decade or so
that, influenced by classical, subaltern, and postcolonial studies,
has constructed the negotiation in much more fluid and diverse
ways including, sometimes simultaneously, accommodation,
imitation, opposition and participation. The paper also suggests
that this work with NT texts may have a contribution to make to
classical studies.
22-142 Adam Gregerman, Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies
Divine Injustice and Rabbinic Lamentations
Retributive theodicy, prominent in Jewish texts from the biblical
and rabbinic periods, explains the suffering of the Jews as God’s
just punishment for their transgression of the Torah’s commandments. However, after the Jews’ two failed revolts against Rome
and centuries of powerlessness and subjugation, some Jews were
unwilling to blame the victims for their suffering. In texts I analyze from the Midrash on Lamentations, we find a remarkable
inversion of retributive theodicy, in accusations that God, not
the Jews, disobeys the Torah, and yet the Jews nonetheless pay
the price. Though similar to doubts found in other ancient Jewish texts about God’s justice and goodness, these interpretations
of the biblical book present a highly specific and harsh critique
of God. Rabbis, believing that God, like the individual Jew, is
bound by the Torah, critique God for ignoring biblical demands
for mercy toward the weak, charity for the poor, faithfulness to
the covenant, and kindness even to the dead. They creatively
juxtapose biblical verses to highlight a perceived discrepancy
between God’s own demands in the Torah (which should work
to the Jews’ benefit) and God’s actual treatment of the people (in
perceptions of their affliction and suffering).
22-142 Sigrid Peterson, University of Pennsylvania
The Question of Audience: Who Knew?
Who knew the Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures, and how did
they know them? Was such knowledge only the province of
elites? Did women, somehow, have a good knowledge of scripture? To answer these and related questions, I will posit a case
analysis from a Greek text, that of 4 Maccabees 18.6–20, which
describes the mother of seven tortured sons as encouraging her
sons by reminding them of the heroes of the biblical books they
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(and she) have heard. Taken at face value, this chapter would
indicate that a great deal of knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic
scripture was disseminated orally—perhaps read aloud, perhaps
told from memory. I will then present counter arguments to
this idea from historians who put the level of literacy—and the
consequences of illiteracy—fairly low. Another counter comes
from a text that shows the main use of the written scriptures
to be bibliomancy (I Macc). The methodological difficulty is to
find unexpected witnesses to literacy, people we would expect to
lack knowledge of biblical literature who have such knowledge.
Conversely, people we would expect to be well versed in biblical
literature might show none of the expected knowledge. Finally, I
will present some summary of how securely we may generalize
from the speech ascribed to the mother of seven in 4 Macc to
oral knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic scriptures.
22-142 Rikki E. Watts, Regent College
In Need of a Second Touch? Why Paul’s Readers are not Pigs on
Legs: A Rejoinder to Chris Stanley’s Pearls Before Swine
Christopher Stanley has recently argued in several influential
publications that since the significant majority of Paul’s audiences had neither the economic, educational, or religious resources
to appreciate the context of his Scriptural citations, and because
Paul himself was fundamentally concerned with undergirding his apostolic authority in highly charged circumstances, it
is mistaken to read the original context into his use of Scripture. This paper will argue that a number of demographic and
social-religious first century indicators (e.g. per capita literacy
and economic data for early Christians; social science data as
to recruitment patterns for “cults” [in the technical sense]; better appreciation of his Ideal Authorial Audience [Rabinowitz],
a more careful assessment of NT evidence as to the skill sets of
key elements of Paul’s original hearers) as well as Paul’s stance
vis-à-vis ancient rhetors and the literary evidence itself render
Stanley’s construal highly problematic. On the contrary, there
are very good grounds for taking seriously the original context
of his Scriptural citations.
22-142 Michael David Matlock, Asbury Theological Seminary
Prayer Changes Things or Things Change Prayer: Solomon’s
Temple Prayer in Early Jewish Literature
The grand structure and theological nature of Solomon’s Temple
Prayer (1 Kings 8) in the MT allowed the LXX translation, Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities (a rewritten Bible) and Targum Jonathan
(a text which lies between translation and rewritten Bible) a sizable opportunity to grapple with many divine characteristics
such as transcendence, imminence, sovereignty, omnipresence,
and recompense. This lecture will concentrate upon these characteristics and other relationships between the MT version and
the versions in Early Judaism. Many innovations of these Jewish
writers reveal their interest in philology, theology, and history.
We will confront these interests through an exploration of the
structure, organization, and content of the versions of Solomon’s
prayer and the ideological concerns that surface.
22-142 Elsie R. Stern, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Praying Scripture: Rethinking the role of biblical utterances in
early Jewish liturgy
Biblical texts play a central role in the Jewish liturgy that developed in rabbinic circles in late antiquity. Communal worship
included ritual reading from the Torah and Prophets, recitation
of the pentateuchal passages known collectively as the shema,
and on certain festive occasions, the recitation of Pss 113–118,
known collectively as Hallel. In addition, fast day liturgies in●
cluded the recitation of concatenations of biblical verses. In later
Jewish practice, other biblical texts were added to the liturgy
and a range of para-biblical liturgical genres also developed, including piyyutim and lectionary homilies. Until now, scholarly
studies of these scriptural components of early Jewish liturgy
have operated within a text and interpretation model. These
studies assume, either implicitly or explicitly, that participants
in the worship service would be able to identify and discriminate between biblical and non-biblical utterances and would
understand the relationship between, for example, a lectionary
reading and a homily on it, as one of text and interpretation.
However, the thoroughgoing orality/aurality of the synagogue
context challenges the appropriateness of this model. Would
members of a synagogue audience who only encountered the
liturgy aurally necessarily identify the Hallel poems as biblical?
How strongly would they distinguish between the aurally received lectionary texts and their surrounding translations and
interpretations that were also received aurally? In this paper, I
will explore the ways in which scriptural utterances were, and
were not, marked as scriptural in liturgical contexts and will discuss the particular functions ascribed to biblical utterances in
the liturgy by rabbinic sources. I will use my findings to propose
a new model for understanding both the role of biblical texts
in early Jewish liturgy and the relationship between biblical and
non-biblical utterances in the early synagogue context.
22-143 Ho Kim, Korean Church of Waco
Anonymity in Light of Gremas’s Semiotic Theory
Most Hebraic heroes are well known because they have been the
subject of study by many scholars. The heroes abandoned their
own safety in order to rescue their community or nation from a
fatal crisis. They chiefly possessed both their own proper names
and a social position to a greater or lesser degree. Contrary to
these heroes, at the crucial moment of survival or annihilation
of her own community in 2 Sam 20:14–22, a woman stood up
courageously. By holding off the military force with spears and
swords by a single speech of wisdom, she delivered the community from danger immediately prior to its extinction. Despite her
heroic exploits, the heroine was merely portrayed as anonymity
that seems to have caused her to be outside the domain of study.
Why was she introduced simply as unnamed? Recognizing the
common idea that anonymity detracts from identity, nevertheless, I will argue a hermeneutical possibility that the biblical
anonymity in the text may be interpreted as a heuristic devise
(or the determinant of meaning) by which God’s image is depicted as not that of a father but of a mother. With this end in
view, my methodology employed here is to utilize both Adele
Reinhartz’s theory of the biblical anonymity and Algirdas J. Greimas’s semiotic theories such as carré semiotique and schèma
actantiel. On the premise of the anonymity theory, I will develop the meaning-producing dimension in which the unnamed
woman’s identity hidden beneath a surface structure of the biblical text will be concretized in a deep structure by the help of the
structuralism’s interpretive tool.
22-143 George Aichele, Adrian College
Fantasy and the Synoptic Problem: Q and the “Minor Agreements” against Mark
The minor agreements between the gospels of Matthew and
Luke against Mark are often discussed in the context of historical-critical arguments about Markan priority or the existence
or contents of Q, the hypothetical common source of Matthew
and Luke. In that context they provide a puzzle of considerable
relevance to the history of the synoptic tradition. However, the
present essay is not at all concerned with that puzzle, except in
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an indirect way. I examine selected major agreements (“Mark/Q
overlaps”) and minor agreements with regard to the presence or
absence of the literary fantastic in them, as opposed to corresponding passages in Mark, with reference to the fantasy theory
of Tzvetan Todorov, as complemented by the views of Roland
Barthes and Gilles Deleuze. I also draw upon scholarly studies
of the minor agreements by Neirynck, Goulder, Tuckett, Goodacre, and others. The relative absence of the fantastic in both the
major and minor agreements provides additional evidence for
the priority of Mark and (perhaps) against the existence of Q,
but it also reinforces Mark’s unique status in relation to the fantastic and contributes significantly to differences between Mark’s
simulation of Jesus and those of the other gospels.
22-143 William Myatt, Loyola University of Chicago
A Case Study of Ricoeurian “Reading”: The Gospel of Mark According to the Interplay between Explanation and Interpretation
Since Wilhelm Dilthey’s construction of hermeneutical theory, it
has been typical to posit a distinction between two attitudes that
can be adopted towards a text: “explanation” and “interpretation.”
Explanation utilizes a form of understanding derived from the
natural sciences and maintains a positivistic posture in relation
to the text, while interpretation utilizes a form of understanding derived from the human sciences and reflects a derivative,
or “psychological” epistemology. In an attempt to make the relationship between these two attitudes “less contradictory and
more fecund,” Paul Ricoeur posits that when explanation and
interpretation are understood as engendering in themselves a
synthesis of objectivity and subjectivity, they are found also to
overlap, being mutually dependent in an appropriate dialectic of
reading. Explanation and interpretation both contain a simultaneous connection with a controlled set of criteria within textual
analysis that pushes toward objectivity (scientific method) and a
dynamic interaction between text and reader that pushes toward
subjectivity (humanistic method). In this short paper I would
like to test Ricoeur’s restatement of the relationship between
explanation and interpretation for its fecundity by applying
his method to an ancient Christian text, the gospel of Mark.
As Ricoeur is wont to observe (following the lead of Aristotle),
literary genres such as myth, tragedy, and poetry engender the
tendency of individuals to create (poiesis) a memory (mimesis)
of human actions in a poetic and elevated manner and function
to highlight life’s aporias in their very makeup. Poetic writing
engenders in its phenomenal identity the “limit situations” of
existence (birth, death, sex, temporality, etc.) by purposefully
juxtaposing ideas that may appear mutually exclusive. It highlights dissonance through the medium of dissonance. When
read as a participant in this type of writing, Mark’s gospel can be
understood to create a similar situation. There is a mythical (that
is, related to the genre of “myth”) dissonance that one observes
in its structural apparatus. This poetic function plays an important role in the formation of the community that reads Mark’s
gospel and, thereby, reconnects the text with the world of experience. As the reading community moves from an explanation
of Mark’s gospel into an appropriation of the poetic sense of the
text, it finds itself confronted by claims that expand its identity
and give its theological project a sense of plasticity.
22-144 Amy C. Merrill Willis, Gonzaga University
Creating a Thirst for Justice: Service-Learning in the Jesuit Liberal
Arts Context
In a recent article surveying the possibilities and pitfalls of service-learning, educational theorist Dan Butin raises the question
of service learning’s universality and particularity. Butin argues
that despite the claims made by service-learning theorists that
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the pedagogy has universal value as a transformative approach
to education, in fact, the practice and theory of s-l usually rests
on unarticulated values and convictions that are particular in
nature. Moreover, Butin asserts that these values must be uncovered and claimed in order for service-learning theory and
practice to flourish in higher education. This paper will respond
to Butin’s analysis by outlining the potential of service-learning
within the particularity of the Jesuit liberal arts undergraduate
context with its distinctive theological articulations of experiential learning, care of the whole person (cura personalis),
solidarity with the marginalized, and social justice education.
The paper will then broadly outline one way in which servicelearning, or community-based education, can be integrated into
the content and pedagogical practice of courses pertaining to
the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. The discussion will consider
the potential impact of this content and pedagogy by examining student reflections and assessments of their s-l experiences.
Finally, this paper will consider in brief the suitability of this
particular articulation of service learning for use in other liberal
arts settings.
22-144 Michael Willett Newheart, Howard University
Toward a Pedagogy of Peace: Service Learning, Prison ViolenceReduction Workshops, and New Testament Studies
In my Introduction to New Testament classes, I encourage
students to select as one of their required projects participation in an “Alternatives to Violence Project” (AVP) Workshop
in one of the state prisons in Jessup, MD (between Baltimore
and Washington). AVP workshops are offered in prisons all over
the country. I myself have participated in these workshops and
have been trained as a facilitator. This paper will describe AVP,
discuss the ways that I use this experience in my classes, and
reflect on it in terms of service learning. This paper grows out of
a Wabash Center Mid-Career Workshop (2007–08) and Followup Fellowship (2009).
22-144 Mary H. Schertz, Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminary
Service Learning for the Service Weary?
I have long desired to incorporate service learning into a course
called “Biblical Perspectives on Suffering and the Atonement.”
But there are obstacles. Our student body is about evenly divided
between younger students (under 30) and more mature students
who often bring significant service experience with them. In addition, my particular tradition is service rich but, increasingly,
we are serving students from a widening range of religious backgrounds. One might think that, with this wealth of experience in
the classroom, service learning would not necessarily be a priority. I think otherwise. The content of the class calls for it and
we have not been institutionally strong in utilizing adequately
the experience of older students. I believe that service learning
can benefit those experienced in service, even service weary, as
well as those for whom service is new. But for good learning to
happen in this setting, the differing levels of service experience
in the classroom will need to become a path for learning rather
than an obstacle to it. In this paper I propose to describe and
analyze the factors that should be taken into account when designing service learning assignments and assessments of those
assignments for this diversity of students. I will argue that the
potential obstacles such diversity presents can become gifts of
learning and teaching by carefully pairing students to work together on a service assignment and to collaborate in reflecting
on and assessing their learning. The design of the component
should be and can be set up in such a way that the it is clear
from the beginning that both partners are teachers and learners.
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When such collaboration is done well both the service weary
and the not so service weary benefit from service learning.
22-145 Anathea Portier-Young, Duke University
Toward a Theory of Early Jewish Apocalypses as Resistance
Literature
This paper examines theories of domination and resistance to
evaluate their applicability to our earliest Jewish apocalypses
and then proposes a theory of the apocalypse as resistance literature. The Enochic Book of Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36) and Daniel,
two of our earliest apocalypses, serve as exemplars and test cases
throughout. In Part I I assess three definitions of resistance in relation to the colonial situation of Judea under Hellenistic rule in
the 3rd and early 2nd centuries BCE and the forms of resistance
evident in the apocalypses from this period. In Part II I test the
applicability of the influential work of James C. Scott for the
study of apocalypses as resistance literature. Do the composers
of apocalypses, who conceal their identity within the pseudonymous attribution of authorship to a noteworthy figure from the
past, function in a similar fashion to the peasant in Sedaka who
begins a rumor only to deny it publicly? Does the apocalyptic
dualism between the visible and invisible correspond in some
way to Scott’s idea of the public and hidden transcript? The parallels are tantalizing, but I argue that something very different is
at work in these early apocalypses. For Scott public acquiescence
to the demands of the domination system need not correspond
to acceptance in the realm of belief. Rejecting Gramsci’s notion
of hegemony, Scott finds in the hidden transcript evidence for
the autonomy of ideas from material constraints. We find no
such notion in the earliest Jewish apocalypses. The dualism of
the apocalypses acknowledges a hidden world distinct from the
visible world, but the very thesis of apocalyptic literature is that
hidden realities ineluctably shape the visible, and therefore must
be revealed: revelation of hidden things provides the necessary
basis for action. Part III outlines a theory of the apocalypse as
resistance literature and examines specific discursive strategies
of resistance employed in the Book of the Watchers and Daniel.
The authors and tradents of these early apocalypses recognized
the power of hegemonic discourse and sought to counter it with
an equally totalizing discourse of their own. The imperial domination system could most easily perpetuate itself by rendering
the structures of domination invisible. The apocalypses sought
to render them visible and characterize them as monstrous or
demonic precisely to enable full-fledged resistance of the mind,
spirit, and body. Similarly, the device of pseudonymity served
not to hide the person or community who composed the apocalypse, but rather to assert that they were not the originators of
this counter-discourse. The guarantee of their revelation stood
upon the givenness of tradition: the plan of God was embedded in creation, fixed for all time, and handed down in the
unitary witness of a great figure from long ago. By positing the
contingency of their own discourse, the composers of the early
apocalypses were able to assert the parallel contingency of the
imperial domination system, undercutting its claims to ultimacy and depriving it of the power to assign meaning within the
world.
22-145 Deborah A. Appler, Moravian Theological Seminary
‘Digging in the Claws.’ Daniel 4 and the Predatory Nature of
Empire
Daniel 4, one of the folkloric tales (Dan 1–6) that likely reflects
the hardships imposed on Jews in the Diaspora by their Persian
overlords, provides words of hope and resistance to those colonized both in ancient and modern times. The text accomplishes
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this by lampooning the colonizers. For example, in Dan 4 the
Great Nebuchadnezzar, who boasts that he has “mighty power,”
and “glorious majesty” (30), and who, in his dream, is represented as a tree reaching into the heavens that provides fruit, shade,
housing, and food for all living beings” (10–12) will be cut down
to size (23). Nebuchadnezzar’s self-understanding as the great
benefactor is not shared by his Jewish subjects. In reality, Nebuchadnezzar’s wealth is not of his own making but a result of his
ability to pirate the fruits of the colonized—the land, food production, and human power. Nebuchadnezzar rules his Empire as
a vulture searching for goods on which to grasp in order to fill
his insatiable appetite for power. This is revealed in Daniel’s rhetoric. As the king receives his punishment and transforms from
human to a carrion bird, he becomes in the animal kingdom his
role in the human kingdom (32–33). This imagery underscores
the predatory nature of Persian domination and colonization
in general. I will read the rhetoric of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream
(4:10–12) and punishment (4:32–33) within the socio-political context of the Persian Period, focusing on the ways Persians
acquired wealth from the colonized in subtle and not so subtle
ways. To unpack the complexities of Empire, especially in today’s
Global economy, I will dialogue with Indian scholar Vandana
Shiva, a leader of the International Forum on Globalization, and
others social scientists and postcolonial biblical scholars who,
like Daniel when confronting Nebuchadnezzar (4:27), hope that
Imperialists will transform into just, and merciful nations.
22-145 Franz Volker Greifenhagen, Luther College, University of Regina
Bargaining with Patriarchy in the Book of Ruth
Gender focused approaches to the book of Ruth generally divide into those which interpret the female characters positively
as heroically struggling to survive in a man’s world, exhibiting
traits worthy of emulation, and those which interpret the female
characters negatively as pawns of patriarchy who are ultimately
complicit with masculine interests. At stake in these divergent
approaches is the understanding of female agency as portrayed
in ancient texts, especially texts such as the Hebrew Bible which
retain a normative status for some contemporary communities of
readers. Are women, as depicted in these texts, ultimately mere
passive victims of a patriarchal order or are they active resisting
or colluding participants? Or is the agency of women located
elsewhere in spaces that are obscured by the male-oriented telling of the story? These questions speak to the use of the book of
Ruth both as a source of socio-historical data on life in ancient
Israelite society and as a point of reference for contemporary
Jewish and Christian activists for gender justice. In this contribution, I read the book of Ruth together with the concept of the
“patriarchal bargain,” a term coined by Deniz Kandiyoti in 1988
to both describe an observable phenomenon in families in traditional societies and wrestle with the notion of female agency
in patriarchal contexts. After describing Kandiyoti’s “patriarchal
bargain,” I employ the concept in an analysis of the relationship
between Naomi and Ruth in terms of the relationship between
mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in traditional family
structures. I draw on the notion of “women’s networks” to interrogate and complicate these relationships. Finally, I return to
the issue of women’s agency to question conventional notions of
patriarchy as they are applied to the biblical text.
22-145 Kelly Murphy, Emory University
“You Have Mocked Me and Told Me Lies”: Women, Direct Discourse, and the Book of Judges
The book of Judges is a book that focuses much attention on
women. Four of these women are named (Achsah, Deborah,
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Jael, and Delilah), while the others remain nameless, and the
degree to which these women are allowed to speak within the
narrative world of Judges varies greatly. This paper will focus
on the use and function of direct discourse within the following women’s narratives: Achsah (Judg 1), Deborah and Jael (Judg
4, 5), Jephthah’s daughter (Judg 11), Samson’s mother, his Timnite wife, and Delilah (Judg 13–16), and the unnamed woman
of Judg 19. As it has often been observed, the status of women
within the book serves as a kind of gauge that measures the relationship Israel has with its deity. This paper will, through the
lens of discourse analysis, examine the discourses involving the
female characters of the book and argue that these discourses
parallel both the decline of ancient Israel’s relationship with its
deity as well as the decline of ancient Israelite society as they
are depicted in the book of Judges. This study will privilege discourse analysis because this method aids in the examination of
the manner in which language is employed to construct a symbolic world through text and speech.
22-146 Barrie Bowman, Sheffield University
Opening the Exile: Spatial Construction in Jeremiah 24
This paper focuses on analyzing the ways in which space and
place are constructed in Jeremiah 24. It will draw primarily
on the work of Yi-Fu Tuan but will also touch on the idea of
‘Thirdspace’ as articulated by Lefebvre/Soja. The paper argues
that Jeremiah 24 represents an ideological shift within the text
and that this shift is founded upon a new spatial construction.
The new spatial construction articulated by the text seeks to
affirm Babylonian hegemony in exchange for a hope of restoration. In addition, the chapter opens a new phase in the book in
which this spatial shift becomes more pronounced (ie. Jeremiah
25–29). Thus, Jeremiah 24 ‘opens the exile’ both literally, by introducing the theme, and metaphorically, through appealing for
a Pro-Babylonian ideology.
22-146 Jill Hicks-Keeton, Duke University
Diasporic Space in Tobit
Like many Second Temple Jewish writings, the book of Tobit is
concerned with a geographical category that provokes centuries
of theological reflection about space: Diaspora. In this narrative,
a pious Israelite and his family have been dislocated to Assyria,
whose imperial control is famously exerted by displacing its subalterns. Through an analysis of the book of Tobit from the point
of view of critical spatial theory, this paper demonstrates that the
narrative’s construction of space(s) functions to advance the novella’s theological agenda of confirming that Israel’s dispersion is
not permanent. Taking into account contemporary descriptions
of agoraphobia and employing de Certeau’s distinctions between
tactics and strategies, this paper traces how Tobit’s ethnocentric
ethical behavior and advice reveal a distinctly spatial anxiety and
an attempt to resist Assyrian imperial control. Furthermore, this
paper argues that Deleuze and Guattari’s paradigm of smooth/
striated space provides an invaluable model for understanding
how Tobit’s practices affect—and produce—his Diasporic space.
Yet the primary spatial coordinate of the narrative is Jerusalem,
the place to which Tobit longs to return. This study will therefore provide a close reading of Tobit’s poetic image (in ch. 13) of
Jerusalem as God’s house—a domestic space imagined through
idealizing nostalgia. I thereby intend to show how critical spatial
theory may be especially useful for the study of Second Temple
narratives that are concerned with the reality of Jewish Diaspora.
22-146 Gil P. Klein, Franklin and Marshall College
The Torah Room: Spaces of Rabbinic Study as Exegetical topoi
Recent scholarship on spatial issues in the context of late antique
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rabbinic culture has yielded significant insights into the role of
architecture in rabbinic exegesis. One of the rabbinic spaces,
which has not received much attention, is the Roman banquet
hall of the triclinium. Although the term traqlin or triqlina has
become somewhat generic in rabbinic literature, it more often
than not designates a royal hall as well as the typical domestic
room, in which the couches for reclining are arranged in a Pishape setting. The sages are frequently depicted in the literature
as reclining and dining in triclinia, and one story from Leviticus
Rabbah 16:2 specifically mentions Torah study in such a hall.
The link made in Leviticus Rabbah between triclinia study and
the notion of afterlife or longevity appears also in sources such
as PT Hagiga 77a, which refers to a heavenly triclinium awaiting
the righteous Torah scholars in the World to Come. Songs Rabbah 6:2 places the studying scholars under the Tree of Life, thus
transforming the symbol of the Torah as a life giving entity into
a an actual space. By unfolding the symbolism and iconography
of life and death strongly associated with the triclinium in the
Graeco-Roman culture, this paper seeks to illuminate the way in
which the structure and traditions of this hall shaped particular
instances of rabbinic biblical interpretation. Through the analysis of a few triclinia excavated in recent years in the Galilee, this
paper will furthermore offer a theoretical consideration of the
relationship between midrash and architecture.
22-146 Chad Spigel, Trinity University
Seating Capacities, Balconies, and the Separation of Men and
Women in Ancient Synagogue Worship
In an article from 1963 Shmuel Safrai argues that there is neither literary nor archaeological evidence to suggest that any of
the synagogue balconies in Palestine from the first through fifth
centuries C.E. were used as women’s sections. Safari’s article
was so convincing that it led to the current scholarly consensus that women both attended ancient synagogues on a regular
basis, and that they were not segregated in any manner from
men during times of worship. Therefore, balconies from late antique synagogues are no longer identified as women’s sections,
but simply as additional seating for a mixed congregation. In
this presentation I argue that such a uniform understanding of
synagogue worship practices in late antique Palestine is unjustified. First, while there isn’t an abundance of literary evidence for
the separation of the sexes during Jewish worship at this time, it
is incorrect to say that there is no literary evidence for the practice. Second, and central to the argument of this presentation,
an analysis of the archaeological evidence for particular ancient
synagogue buildings with balconies suggests that balconies may
indeed have served as women’s sections. Specifically, I look at
the changing seating capacities for the ancient synagogue building in Gush Halav and suggest that the addition of the balcony
in the second phase makes most sense if it served as a place for
women. In this presentation I don’t argue that every ancient
synagogue balcony served as a women’s section or that all communities separated the sexes during worship. Instead, I suggest
that an analysis of the evidence forces us to consider that there
were some ancient synagogue communities that separated the
sexes during times of worship.
22-146 Christine Shepardson, University of Tennessee,
Knoxville
The Power of Prestigious Places: Teaching and Preaching in
Fourth-Century Antioch
The pagan sophist Libanius recounts in his autobiography the
struggle that he faced when he returned to his hometown of
Antioch in the middle of the fourth century, intending to teach
there after years abroad. At first confined to his home with a
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small group of students, he slowly acquired a classroom at the
edge of the marketplace, and then finally the coveted prize of the
city hall where he gained countless students and his authority
increased exponentially, as seen from subsequent interactions
with the prefect Strategius and even the emperor Julian. In these
same decades, three (and momentarily four) Christian leaders
concurrently claimed the title Bishop of Antioch, each elected
by a different Christian faction. This led to sharp and long-lived
competitions about who could preach in which of Antioch’s
church buildings (and who was exiled altogether), and efforts
to redefine the relative prestige of those buildings, as seen, for
example, by John Chrysostom and Bishop Meletius. This paper
will compare Libanius’ competition for Antioch’s most prestigious teaching places, and the power attendant on teaching in
the prime city hall classroom, with fourth-century Antiochene
Christian leaders’ competitions to control the city’s most prestigious preaching places. Interpreting the Christian disputes
in light of Libanius’ narrative will shed new light on the spatial
dynamics of authority in fourth-century Antioch generally, and
in the intra-Christian conflicts that took place there more specifically. This study will demonstrate that these fourth-century
Antiochenes had a clear sense of the benefits that came from
controlling identifiably powerful places, in terms of the numbers of people they could influence and the local authority they
would gain, and that pagan and Christian teachers alike rhetorically and physically manipulated their world to take advantage
of these dynamics.
22-147 John S. Kloppenborg, University of Toronto
The Parable of the Shepherd and the tranformation of discourse
This paper begins by situating the parable of Shepherd (Q 15:4–
7 | GThom 107) in the context of pastoral practices as known
from contemporary Graeco-Egyptian papyri, and then tracks
the ways the polyvalent image of the shepherd was transformed
and adapted in the course of various synoptic and Thomasine
performances. The paper pays attention to various social and
economic registers which the parable presupposed and to which
it appealed.
22-147 Delbert Burkett, Louisiana State University
“Make Friends with Unrighteous Mammon” (Luke 16:9): A Form
of Early Christian Fundraising
Interpreters generally regard the story of the “unjust steward” in
Luke 16:1–9 as the most perplexing of the parables. The present
study seeks to illuminate it through a historical-critical interpretation that sets it in the context of early Christian concerns
about finances. The interpretation of the parable depends in part
on whether one includes Luke 16:9 as part of it. I take this verse
as the original application of the parable. Interpreters usually
assume that the parable is directed to Jesus’ disciples. This interpretation, however, raises the question of how an unethical
character could serve as a positive example for Jesus’ disciples.
The interpretation that I propose avoids this problem, since the
steward serves as a model not for disciples but for wealthy outsiders. Luke 16:9 encourages rich outsiders to use their wealth
to make friends of Jesus’ disciples, specifically by reducing their
debts, so that in the eschatological kingdom Jesus’ disciples will
receive these benefactors into their eternal dwellings. Luke 16:9
thus expresses a principle of reciprocity: outsiders who bless
Jesus’ disciples, that is, the people of God, will themselves be
blessed. Other applications of this principle are attested in both
the Hebrew Bible and elsewhere in the New Testament. The
parable has been interpreted within the literary context of LukeActs, the Sitz im Leben of Luke’s community, and the ministry
of the historical Jesus. It may fit best, however, in the context of
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early Christianity in Palestine. According to Acts, the Jerusalem
church initially sought to sustain itself by a system of communal sharing. However, a famine and other factors made this
system inadequate. As economic concerns increased, the community may have sought ways to encourage wealthy outsiders
to contribute to their welfare. The parable of the unjust steward
becomes plausible in this context.
22-147 Terri Bednarz, Loyola University-New Orleans
Lukan Humor and the Parable of Dishonest Household Manager
(Luke 16:1–17)
In this paper, I discuss the use of humor forms in the Lukan
parable of the Dishonest Household Manager (Luke 16:1–8).
In addition, I examine the use of tendentious humor in the authorial commentary immediately following the parable (Luke
16:9–17). I situate my analysis within the contexts of Roman-era
oral performance and rhetoric. I explain specifically the forms
and functions of tendentious humor in ancient oral performances, and then I explain how humor serves critical functions
in deliberative type speeches. Within these contexts, my research essentially demonstrates that the central function of the
tendentious forms of humor in the authorial commentary of this
parable is twofold: to win the conciliatio of the public and to delegitimize rivals to Lukan community/communities.
22-147 Bradley R. Trick, Duke University
Misinterpretation as Interpretive Key: Jesus’ Use of Ambiguous
Parables to Harden Hearts
As a preface to his allegorical interpretation of the Sower Parable
in all three Synoptic Gospels, Jesus explains his use of parables
by invoking Isaiah’s commission to harden hearts lest the people
understand, return, and be healed (Isa 6:9–10). Few scholars
give this explanation much credence when considering how we
should interpret the parables. Indeed, many interpreters view it
simply as an early church creation intended to account for Jesus’
ultimate rejection by the Jews. Parables, however, would seem to
offer an ideal vehicle for fulfilling Isaiah’s commission since their
figurative nature opens them to the possibility of misinterpretation, especially when they involve allegorical associations. This
paper accordingly suggests that we should take Jesus’ claim more
seriously as an interpretive key. Using Matthew 13 as a test case,
it argues that Jesus presents parables of impending judgment in
terms that listeners could easily misunderstand as promises of
blessing. When the expected blessing fails to arrive, those with
hardened hearts will abandon even the shallow understanding
of God that had led to their superficial embrace of Jesus’ proclamation. Meanwhile, disciples who persevere will gain further
understanding into the parables’ true meaning. The parables in
Matthew 13 thus polarize the lukewarm among Jesus’ followers,
stripping away the faulty preconceptions of those with hardened
hearts so as to enable a fresh hearing of the gospel while increasing the understanding of true disciples so that they become, like
Jesus, sowers and scribes of the kingdom. Understood in this
way, the parables could achieve their desired hardening effect
only in the specific historical context of Jesus’ ministry. Their
appearance in Matthew 13 then represents a kingdom scribe’s
interpretive re-contextualization of the parables into a literary
setting that enables attentive readers/auditors—including those
who had originally misunderstood—to discern the “old” parables’ “new” (true) meaning.
22-147 J.R.C. Cousland, University of British Columbia
Leav(en)ing Judaism: Matthew’s Parable of the Leaven and the
Gentiles
Kennedy has remarked that “in the view of all antiquity, Semitic
and non-Semitic, panary fermentation represented a process of
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corruption and putrefaction in the mass of the dough.” Because
leaven exemplified decomposition and decay, it was largely forbidden in Israel’s offerings, while hametz was ritually eliminated
from Jewish households every Passover. Inevitably, the leavening
process evolved into a popular metaphor for moral corruption,
coming to epitomize the evil inclination in humans the yetzer
ha-ra. The same phrase is used by the rabbis as a synonym for
paganism, where reverting to one’s leaven in the case of proselytes was seen as a relapse to pagan ways; the proselytes returned
to their “old leaven.” By contrast, as Tractate Kiddushin (69b)
makes evident, pure sifted flour represents an unadulterated Israel, one without a gentile admixture. Thus, the identification of
the gentiles with the process of corruption is a natural one, and
prompts questions about the understanding of zumê in the NT,
and not least in Jesus’ parable of the Leaven. I would contend
that Matthew understands the leaven in Jesus’ parable as emblematic of the gentiles. The association between gentiles and
defilement that had become normative in the Hellenistic period
is clearly evidenced in the gospel. At the same time, the growth
occasioned by the leaven is reflected in the acceptance of “all the
nations” into the Church (Matt 28:19). For Matthew, the inclusion of the gentiles enlarges the purview of the Kingdom, but
alters its fabric fundamentally and irrevocably. Leaven no longer
demarcates a process of exclusion, but inclusion. Just how radically the symbol comes to be redeployed can be determined from
Ignatius’s rather startling exhortation (at least to Jewish ears) a
generation later, which urges his Christian readers to “turn to
the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ” (Magn. 10:2).
22-148 J. Edward Walters, Abilene Christian University
Literal Translation as Doctrine: The Philoxenian New Testament
In the first century of the 6th century CE, Philoxenus, Bishop
of Mabbug, issued a revision of the Syriac New Testament.
This revision was motivated by the christological and doctrinal
disputes of the 5th-6th centuries—specifically the dyophysite
controversy often branded “Nestorianism.” Philoxenus ordered
the revision because, in his opinion, the Peshitta translation
was open to Nestorian interpretation. However, according to
Philoxenus, such an interpretation was made possible by the
carelessness of the translators of the Peshitta and not by the intention of the original authors. Thus, Philoxenus believed that
this issue could be resolved by retranslating the New Testament
from Greek into Syriac in order to provide a more literal—and
thus more “correct”—rendering of the Holy Scriptures. However, insofar as Philoxenus’ New Testament can be recovered from
his writings, it does not appear that his revision was as thorough or systematic as the revision of Thomas of Harkel just 100
years later. Philoxenus takes issue with only a few passages, but
his revisions to those passages reveal his Christological agenda.
Philoxenus’ arguments were instrumental in the formation of a
distinctive miaphysite Christology within the Syriac tradition,
and Philoxenus’ revision of the New Testament provides a window into the Christological controversy of the early 6th century
and the manner of argumentation that laid the foundation in the
Syriac tradition for the role of literal translations of the Bible in
doctrinal disputes.
22-148 David A. Michelson, University of Alabama
The Philoxenian New Testament and the Hermeneutic of Simplicity
Philoxenos of Mabbug (d. 523) has long been of interest to Biblical scholars due to his patronage of a major retranslation of the
Syriac New Testament at the beginning of the sixth century. According to his own account, Philoxenos sponsored the revision
to correct what he considered to be the mistranslation of specific
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passages of scripture relevant to the post-Chalcedonian Christological disputes. While Philoxenos’ own explanation draws
attention to the mechanics of the translation project, i.e. accuracy
of incarnational vocabulary, the undertaking as a whole must be
understood within the broader context of Philoxenos’ doctrinal
polemics. This paper argues that he intended the Philoxenian
New Testament to do more than resolve questions of competing
proof texts. The retranslation of the New Testament was one part
of Philoxenos’ strategy to promote a hermeneutic which would
undercut his dyophysite opponents. To this end, the conflict
over scripture was framed as a matter of competing devotional
practice. Philoxenos charged that his opponents’ speculative
method of interpretation (following Theodore of Mopsuestia)
had done more than just misread the text. Their inquiries had
impeded the process of simple faith through which scripture
delivered the mysteries of the incarnation. Philoxenos advocated an alternative vision of scripture reading, a hermeneutic
of simplicity. In this approach (inherited in part from Evagrius
and Ephrem), reading scripture was an aid to contemplation, directly disclosing the mysteries of the incarnation to the reader.
For Philoxenos, scripture was not a subject of intellectual inquiry. It was this hermeneutic that motivated Philoxenos’ pursuit
of a new translation, a translation of such accuracy and clarity
that inquiry and commentary would be moot, a version of the
scriptures that did not teach about the incarnation, but directly
delivered its paradox.
22-148 Ilaria Ramelli, Catholic University of the Sacred
Heart, Milan
Remission and Restoration between Luke and Acts: the Riddle of
Luke 23:34 and the Role of the Syriac Translations
I shall start from the Syriac translations of Luke 23:34a, which is
attested in only a part of the Greek manuscript tradition and of
the ancient translations of the Bible. The Syriac translations include this verse: the Vetus Syra (represented here only by Codex
Curetonianus), the Peshitta, and the Harklean version. I shall argue for the authenticity of this verse, which is supported both by
the Syriac translations and by two echoes of v. 34a in Luke-Acts,
which—as I shall demonstrate—are intentional and revealing.
Therefore, I shall analyze these two Acts passages (in both Greek
and Syriac), the second of which is fundamental for the doctrine
of forgiveness and restoration and will be interpreted by Patristic
authors as a reference to the eventual apokatastasis. Some scholars, however, have contended that in fact there is no reference
to the final restoration therein. Here, again, the Syriac, together
with other contextual considerations, will offer valuable indications for the understanding of the doctrine of apokatastasis in
this passage.
22-148 Guilio Maspero, Pontificia Università della Santa
Croce
Syriac Trinitarian Theology and Psalm 33:6
Both in the Greek and the Latin worlds, the translation of Ps 33,6
had a deep meaning from the point of view of the development
of Trinitarian doctrine. The expressions ‘By the Lord’s word the
heavens were made; by the breath of his mouth all their host’
had different readings according to the degree of understanding
of the two distinct divine processions of the second (Word) and
of the third Person (pneuma: breath). The interpretation of this
text was critical in the discussion with the Pneumatomachians,
who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, affirming that He
does not create. The interpretation of ‘heavens’ and ‘host’ was
determined by the doctrinal position of the reader: the terms
could be understood as reference to the angels or to the material
creation, depending on the acknowledgment of a full creative
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role to the third Person. This context highlights the importance
of the analysis of the translation and of the interpretations of Ps
33,6 both in the Syriac authors (for example, Jacob of Edessa and
Dionysius bar Salibi) and the Syriac versions of the Greek Fathers
(for example, the Syriac version of Basil’s De Spiritu Sancto), due
to the role of angelology in Semitic thought and to the Syriac
origins of some Pneumatomachians. This can shed some light
on the Syriac contribution to the development of the Trinitarian
dogma in relationship to the Greek world. It would also offer
an example of the importance of Biblical theology, since dogma
itself was understood as the interpretation of every single text of
the Holy Scriptures in the light of the revelation of Christ as the
Son of God, i.e. in the light of the meaning of the whole.
22-148 J. W. Childers, Abilene Christian University
Anonymous Theologizing: Translation Agendas in the Syriac
Chrysostom
Syriac versions of John Chrysostom’s exegetical Homilies began
to appear soon after the great preacher’s death. On the surface,
these versions present themselves as plain representations of
Chrysostom’s exegeses and homiletical reflections. Yet the anonymous Syriac translators reshaped the Greek texts they received,
transforming them and passing them on under Chrysostom’s
name. They acquired an influential voice in the lively Syriac
theological discourse of their day by convincingly attributing
their own interpretations of the biblical text to Chrysostom. This
paper focuses on passages of particular christological significance in the Syriac versions of Chrysostom’s Homilies on John,
in order to discern the translators’ interpretive agendas and better understand the authorial power they wielded as anonymous
interpreters of the biblical text.
22-149 Steve Delamarter, George Fox University
Preparing to Write the Textual History of the Ethiopic Old
Testament: Of Digitization, Social Editing and the Sociology of
Scholarship
Any attempt to write the textual history of the Ethiopic Bible faces special challenges. First and foremost is the need for multiple
manuscripts of each book, enough to construct a representative
typology of the textual affiliations of the extant manuscripts. At
the present time, the quantity of Ethiopic manuscripts available
to scholars in the West is very limited. Second, is the need for
scholars trained in all of the languages necessary to carry out
a study of the textual history, Ge’ez first, but also a host of languages (Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, Arabic and Armenian,
to name just a few) whose manuscript traditions may have influenced the Ge’ez tradition. And since there simply are not enough
scholars with all of that linguistic expertise available to do the
job, the third challenge is to construct and execute processes
that enable teams of scholars, each with some of the necessary
expertise, to collaborate at a deep enough level to get at the
complex issues involved in the textual history of the Ethiopic
tradition. This presentation will explain our attempts to address
these issues and prepare for the writing of the textual history of
the Ethiopic Old Testament.
22-149 Daniel O. McClellan, University of Oxford
Anthropomorphisms and the Vorlage to LXX Exodus
It has long been recognized that the Greek translations of the
Hebrew Bible often tend away from literal renderings of anthropomorphic passages. LXX Exod 24:10, interjecting “the place
where God stood” in an effort to avoid intimating that God has
a visible form, is a clear example of this theological emendation.
The use of the resumptive adverb ἐκεῖ in the Greek, however,
betrays a uniquely Hebrew syntactical construction and seems
to reveal a Hebrew parent text that already contained the de●
anthropomorphic element. This paper will investigate the LXX
translations of anthropomorphic passages from Exodus and
evaluate the possibility that the Hebrew Vorlage to LXX Exodus
already contained a number of the de-anthropomorphic elements traditionally attributed to the exegesis of the translators.
22-149 Andrew Teeter, Harvard University
Textual Criticism and Legal Hermeneutics: The Problem of Profane Slaughter and the Text of Leviticus 17
The textual plus at Leviticus 17:4 preserved in the LXX and Samaritan Pentateuch has received very mixed evaluations, both
with regard to its textual status (whether primary or secondary),
and with regard to its legal-exegetical function (particularly
vis-à-vis the famous disagreement between R. Ishmael and R.
Akiva). After surveying a variety of textual and interpretive assessments, the present essay argues the case that this plus must
represent a deliberate alteration of the scriptural text for exegetical purposes, one that reflects an interpretation closer to the
position attributed to R. Akiva rather than that of R. Ishmael. As
such, the textual alteration is a witness to a sophisticated early
Jewish legal and textual hermeneutics.
22-149 Daniel Becerra, Brigham Young University
Ketib-Qere Readings and the Versions: New Light on an Old
Problem
Theories about the origins of the Ketib-Qere (KQ) system are
many and different. Though most scholars still follow Robert
Gordis’ influential study of 1937, there is not a consensus today.
This paper does not seek to answer the question regarding the
origins of the KQ system, but rather its reception in the daughter
versions of the Hebrew Bible. In other words, what did ancient
translators prior to the Masoretes do with these readings? In order to answer this, We will first differentiate between real and
analogical variants, or those that develop through the copyists’
work of transmitting the text. Besides the qere perpetuum, most
Masoretic KQ variants pertain to the phonological similarities
between the same four letters (‘alep, he, waw, and yod). To date
there has not been a study to follow the KQ readings in the versions. Using select examples from the 58 KQ readings of Isaiah,
this paper seeks to fill that lacuna by studying whether or not
these readings are significantly different in the versions (Greek,
Latin, Aramaic, and Syriac) or if they can be analogically explained, and whether or not the evidence agrees with the K or Q
variant. By providing a fresh assessment of the KQ problem, new
light will be revealed pertaining to the reception history of the
Hebrew Bible as well as ancient translation methodologies.
22-149 John D. Barry, Logos Bible Software
How the Digital Version of the BHS Apparatus Assists Text-Critical Research
The digital Stuttgart Electronic Study Bible edition of the BHS
apparatus allows us to search the entire apparatus to solve textcritical problems. The relationship between textual types is no
longer a matter of data samples and case studies, but can now
be determined by running full search inquiries. For example,
we can search for every time a Septuagint reading aligns with a
Syriac reading, or every time 1QIsaa agrees with the Septuagint.
We can even search for something as complex as when 1QIsaa,
the Septuagint, and Syriac manuscripts delete a word. We now
even have the ability to see precisely how often 1QIsaa aligns
with other traditions, and subsequently place it in its proper
textual category. We can also further investigate the origin of
specific textual types, based on the correlation between traditions. Thus, the digitalization of the BHS apparatus presents us
with a new tools for approaching textual types and textual issues
in general.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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22-151 Christopher Ansberry, Wheaton College
The Discourse Setting of the Book of Proverbs and Its Hermeneutical Significance
The social and intellectual context of the material in the book of
Proverbs has given rise to several proposals concerning the nature of the constituent compendia within the document as well as
the function of the discourse as a whole. Whether the sapiential
material represents an aristocratic phenomenon, associated with
the royal court, or a haphazard repository of plebeian banalities,
the multifaceted nature of the work refuses strict classification.
The nature and function of the sapiential material is made clear
only when it is explored within a performance context, that is,
in a particular social or dialogical situation that creates a framework through which to identify the function and significance of
the discourse. Performance analysis is most problematic in the
book of Proverbs, however, for the material has been removed
from its original context(s) of use and assembled into an anthology. In light of the problems inherent in an investigation of the
nature and function of the book of Proverbs, the present essay
focuses on the social dimensions of the document within its
distinct, literary context. That is, the study attempts to examine the nature and function of the sapiential material within its
new performance context, viz., the discursive context, the Sitz
im Buch. This form of analysis moves beyond the investigation
of individual aphorisms to provide a concrete context through
which to view the various components of the discourse as well
as the discourse as a whole. In the main, the study explores the
social setting, the speaker, and the addressee of Proverbs 1–9 to
identify the dialogical context in which the material is conveyed.
In view of this setting, the essay reflects on the hermeneutical
significance of the prologue and offers a tentative proposal regarding the function of the book of Proverbs.
22-151 Sun Myung Lyu, Korean Presbyterian Church of
Ann Arbor
The Notion of Eventuality as a Category of Faith in Israelite
Wisdom Literature
Contrary to a popular misconception among its readers, the
book of Proverbs does not try to suppress an uneasy tension
between its religious ideals and the hard facts of daily human
experiences. Nor does it reduce the complexity of this nexus into
simple schemata often dubbed as retribution. Retribution as an
autonomous mechanism of causality is not described, much less
professed, in the moral discourse of Proverbs. What can be abstracted from the sayings and lectures in the book is the notion
of eventuality in relation to the execution of divine justice. This
paper argues that the notion that the righteous God will eventually mete out justice belongs to the category of faith, according
to which the willful acts of God count more heavily into a moral
calculus rather than some abstract causality. This paper will argue that such notion of eventuality is not merely reflection of
Israelite religiosity in general, but an essential component of the
sapiential worldview.
22-151 Jennifer Barbour, University of Oxford
‘I saw all the deeds which have been done under the sun’: Collective Historical Memory in Qohelet’s Catalogue of Times
An ancient line of interpretation of Qohelet 3:1–8, attested in Jerome’s Commentary and in Qohelet Rabbah, relates each of the
paired times in this poem to historical events in the history of
Israel, with a correlation between these opposites and the swings
in Israel’s fortunes between times of captivity and exodus, exile
and return. We could modify the rabbis’ and Jerome’s reading to
find here not the record of God’s historical actions, but the imprint on Qohelet’s language of Israel’s historical experiences, and
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of the reflection on those experiences within previous biblical
tradition. A number of the images in the poem have a well-developed exegetical trajectory within the Hebrew Bible and in
other texts of early Judaism as traditional motifs in the telling
of the national story. When we take together all the echoes of
historical memory in this poem, we find a web of integrated allusions which resonate with the argument of the passage, and
which suggest that the experiencing consciousness voiced by the
author of Qohelet is not a dehistoricized isolated individual consciousness, but one which speaks from within the context of the
nation’s community, scriptures and traditions.
22-151 T. A. Perry, University of Connecticut
Qohelet’s Confession and the Path of Moral Philosophy
Although academic criticism has advanced to the point of considering the book as autobiographical (at least 1:12–2:26), it is
now time to take a further step and consider the possibility that
the autobiographical conclusion (2:26) transforms Qohelet’s
personal narrative into a confession. My second project is to
outline how the book can be described as outlining a path to
moral philosophy. Finally, I shall reflect on how Qohelet’s confession relates to the moral program.
22-151 Richard W. Medina, Pontifical Biblical Institute
Life and Death Viewed as Physical and Lived Spaces: Some Preliminary Thoughts from Proverbs
The present study seeks to understand the motifs of life and
death by the use of distinct categories of time, space and movement occurring in Proverbs. Five specific functions of time,
space and movement are considered, including (1) change of
focus in the speech and guide to the reader; (2) expression of
inner feelings or conditions of a character which are not easily
observable in a written text; (3) interaction of specific and nonspecific references which helps the reader to think in abstract
terms; (4) connection of different spheres of society, thus reflecting the very fabric of biblical anthropology; and (5) vehicle to
signal a change of identities and/or modes of behavior. In a form
of a pilot project, these categories are then applied to Proverbs
2:1–22; 5:1–23; 7:1–27.
22-151 Peter Hatton, Wesley College
Acts and Consequences Revisited
Following Klaus Koch, many biblical scholars believe that the
Israelite wisdom literature assumes an account of divine agency
which has YHWH standing by while processes set in motion by
human agency run their course. The account given by Koch of
the so-called ‘Acts-Consequence Construct’ in his article “Gibt
es ein Vergeltungsdogma im Alten Testament?” (1955) has been
used to buttress pejorative understandings of ‘conservative’ wisdom. This paper will show that Koch carefully selected verses
in Proverbs 11 to prove the universality of this account in the
book, and indeed in Scripture; however, other verses in the
same chapter point in the direction of a more ‘interventionist’
God. It will be further argued that, both in the wisdom literature
and in other biblical texts such as Genesis and the Deuteronomistic History(ies) there is a dialogue between the notion of
inexorable processes working themselves out and that of YHWH’s intervention to accomplish his purposes. This dialogue
can be understood in Bakhtinian terms as provoking the reader
into critical reflection on both divine and human responsibility for the unfolding of events. The context of Koch’s paper in a
theological discourse increasingly dominated by post-Shoah difficulties with traditional theodicies will be investigated. George
Wright’s contemporaneous account of the God Who Acts (1952)
provides an interesting counter-example from a more confident
and assertive theological and political context. In conclusion, the
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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way accounts of divine agency are frequent indicators of different positions in contemporary Christian discourse, both within
and outside ‘the Academy’ will be noted.
22-201 Karyn Traphagen, University of Stellenbosch
Taking the Distance out of Distance Learning
Theological education, like the rest of higher education, must
change in order to incorporate the challenging realities of the
kinds of students we serve, the resources available to a traditional education environment, and the global community of
learners and teachers. This paper will present my experiences of
teaching at a distance over the past seven years utilizing Skype,
WebAssign, Blackboard, and Sakai. Additional interaction with
students via social networking applications like FaceBook and
Twitter will also be discussed. We will compare Open Source
options and for-fee applications. Teacher commitment and curriculum content undergird the success of a distance program as
much as the technology necessary to implement the program.
The requirements that distance learning asks of the instructor
will be highlighted with examples from my own classes. The
challenges of interacting with students at a distance will be
demonstrated to be manageable by examining the experiences
of teaching students (including biblical language students) on
multiple continents and in multiple states. Opportunities for
collaboration and camaraderie between students at a distance
will also be emphasized.
22-201 Tim Bulkeley, Tyndale Carey Graduate School
Degrees of Presence: Using Various Technologies to Provide Distant Students which a Degree of “Presence”
Carey offers a full undergraduate degree in Applied Theology by
distance. In recent years teaching in both this program and the
University of Auckland, I have regularly podcast class sessions,
and/or provided students with short screencast presentations
or videos summarizing material. Instant messaging and Facebook are also used less formally to provide students at a distance
with means to interact with their teacher. This year we are adding “virtual tutorials” to some classes using interactive two way
audio, video and screen sharing technologies. This presentation
will seek to reflect on and evaluate the benefits and problems
of such approaches to enriching a distant student’s experience
with a degree of presence. (I prefer the term “degree of presence”
to the more usual “virtual presence” since the presence is not
virtual but real, merely to a smaller “degree” than a full-bodied
encounter in the same physical space.) In particular it will focus
on an introductory course “Understanding and Interpreting the
Bible” which is designed with such tutorials as a central teaching
element.
22-201 Taylor Halverson, Brigham Young University
Effective Uses of Discussion Forums for Biblical Studies Courses
at a Distance
This presentation will share the instructional design and teaching
tips for the effective use of discussion forums in Biblical Studies
that I learned from developing and teaching an introductory
Old Testament blended-learning course that incorporated both
distance and traditional learning pedagogies and technologies.
This presentation will provide tips for how to create and sustain
a lively discussion environment, model and reward netiquette,
encourage critical thinking, temper overactive “talkers” while
inviting full and thoughtful participation from all learners, and
provide insightful and timely feedback. I will also share a few
of the pitfalls and challenges associated with incorporating distance learning pedagogies and technologies into Biblical Studies
courses and how to avoid them.
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22-201 Jeff S. Anderson, Wayland Baptist University
Teaching a Graduate Dead Sea Scrolls Seminar Online
This paper will review my experience teaching a master’s level
online course on the Dead Sea Scrolls. The course was a graduate
elective for students with no knowledge of Hebrew. Participating
students enrolled from four states and three time zones. Using
BlackBoard as a platform, this class employed a number of distance delivery tools: Voice over PowerPoint lectures, Discussion
Boards, Illuminate live classroom sessions, and online testing.
Since the course was a seminar, the distance methodologies used
were different than other graduate courses. Skype was employed
for virtual office hours. While this particular graduate seminar
course was conducted completely online, my institution now
strongly encourages the use of hybrid courses for many other
classes as well. In a hybrid course, about 70% of the student
contact time is conducted in a traditional classroom with the
remaining 30% online. This year I taught undergraduate Bible
introductions as well as upper division courses for religion majors. This paper will explore the pros and cons of the online and
hybrid formats
22-201 G. Brooke Lester, Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary
The Contribution of Distance Learning Strategies to Brick-andMortar Learning
Web 2.0—the sum of the internet’s collaborative applications—
has begun to be valued for its possibilities for distance learning.
Yet, these strategies are sometimes considered only “next best,”
with some asking whether distance learning communities can recreate the kinds of community associated with brick-and-mortar
learning. This presentation asks, Why should they? Via Web 2.0,
distant collaborative learning already happens in ways demonstrating advantages over traditional learning communities. We
no longer seek to export traditional community models into the
online environment; instead, we import the emergent possibilities of distance learning into the brick-and-mortar classroom.
This presentation reports, from the brick-and-mortar classroom
in Hebrew Bible, on the use of: 1) Slide-enhanced Pod-casting
for delivery of lectures; 2) Shared, aggregated RSS feeds from
blogs, iTunes, YouTube, GoogleNews and GoogleImages as
course-related material for collaborative critical assessment; 3)
Social bookmarking, highlighting, annotation, and “tagging”
of web pages of interest as a flash-point for collaborative provisional thinking; 4) Blogging as a means of socially pursuing that
collaborative provisional thinking; 5) The Wiki as a vehicle for
raising up leaders, for producing enduringly valuable resources,
and for learning how hypertext transforms our understanding
of the taxonomical enterprise; 6) Peer-to-peer assessment of
writing projects as an exercise in socially engaging the critical
rubrics articulated for the course and for the institution. Web 2.0
has inverted an idea that was until recently common sense: that
brick-and-mortar classrooms provide the ideal environment
for collaborative critical learning, and that asynchronous, online communities must strive to duplicate the brick-and-mortar
model while falling ever short of that ideal. As the unique possibilities of online social learning make themselves known, the
traditional classroom begins to re-invent itself in the image of its
younger, Web 2.0, sibling.
22-202 Lynne St. Clair Darden, Drew University
Signifyin’ On the Book of Revelation: A Post-Black Scripturalization on Cultural Memory
This paper reads the Book of Revelation through the lens of a
post-black scripturalization, a reading strategy approached by a
blending of the African American notion of double-consciousness
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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with the postcolonial concepts of hybridity, mimicry/mockery
and ambivalence. The reading will destabilize John’s rhetorical
strategy of resistance, by revealing that his non-accommodating
stance toward the Roman empire is, in actuality, merely reinscribing the oppressive elements of the imperial ethos.
22-202 Kimberly D. Russaw, Vanderbilt University
Wisdom in the Garden
Many scholars have to defined and delimited wisdom literature
as seen in the broad corpus of the ancient Near East and the
narrower canon of the Hebrew Bible. Sadly, neither wisdom
literature in general nor biblical Proverbs in particular concern themselves with women as possessors or beneficiaries of
wisdom. Women are conspicuously absent from the cadre of
characters displaying and possessing wisdom within the Hebrew
Bible wisdom literature corpus. After identifying the contours
of wisdom literature and the characteristics of wise individuals
within the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near East corpus, this paper will examine the character of the woman of Genesis 3 with
an eye towards her reasoned decision for eating from the tree
in the garden of Eden. Finally, this paper will leverage a portion
of Alice Walker’s definition of womanism and proffer a reading
of the woman of Genesis 3 as a wise, womanist character. This
paper argues that the woman of Genesis 3 should be included
among the cadre of wise characters of the Hebrew Bible.
22-202 Shanell T. Smith, Drew University
Jesus the (Androgynous) Slain Lamb: A Womanist Analysis of the
Construction of Gender in Revelation
Throughout most of Revelation, Jesus is in animal guise as the
Lamb; when he is not (mainly at the beginning and end of the
book), he appears as a human. I shall focus on Jesus as the figure
of the slain Lamb (especially in chapters 5 and 14), drawing attention to the way his gender is constructed, as associated with
penetration and viewing. It has been suggested by Christopher
A. Frilingos (Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs, and the
Book of Revelation) that Jesus’ masculinity appears to be compromised in his slaughtered state, only to be resurrected to a
hyper-masculinity in 14:9–11 via the power of the gaze. This
interpretation, however, which suggests that the Lamb shifts
from feminine to masculine genders in the text of Revelation,
is problematic for African American women for two reasons:
domination of the masculine gender over the feminine, and its
negative implications for African American women who view
Jesus as Christ—a Savior for all. Therefore, I shall present a resisting reading which argues that the Lamb espouses both genders
simultaneously. This alternative reading, by allowing femininity
to remain an aspect of Jesus’ gender, aims to forestall hegemonic
patriarchal attempts to exclude African American women from
the narrative or use it against them. Additionally, a womanist
interpretation will draw attention to the sacrificial aspect of the
Lamb: Jesus as divine cosufferer. Maintaining the view of an androgynous Jesus undermines the notion propounded by Tina
Pippin and others that the Jesus of Revelation can only serve
as a source of hope for men. Thus, I intend to use a womanist
analysis to reinterpret Jesus’ gender in the figure of the Lamb,
not only to draw attention to the patriarchal overtones of recent
interpretations of his gender performance in the book, but also
to sustain the perception of Jesus as a divine cosufferer for African American women.
22-202 Karl Brower, Catholic University of America
Messianisms in the Old Testament
This paper investigates messianism as a core theology in the
Old Testament, separate and distinct from the development
of Eschatological Messianic expectations of later Judaism. The
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dominant messianic theology was royal messianism, which centered on the role of the Davidic dynasty as the sign of Yahweh’s
covenantal faithfullness to Israel. Royal messianism developed
from a royal or kingship ideology of the ancient Near East used
to legitimize the Davidic dynasty, but was subject to pre-monarchal tribal traditions and the requirements of Yahwehism. With
time, it became a core testimony of Israel. A messianic hope
continued to exist, even after the loss of the monarchy, and this
hope was different from the hope of an Eschatological Messiah.
Royal messianism was just one form of messianism within the
OT. Priests and prophets also competed for the messianic role.
Finally, there was also an anti-messianic movement, which denied Yahweh’s reliance on human agents to fulfill the obligations
of his election covenant with Israel. The anti-messianic movement, primarily expressed in a renunciation of the centrality of
the Davidic covenant with its flawed agents of deliverance, has
to be seen as an essential element in the development of Eschatological Messianic expectations. The objective of this paper is
to recover messianic theology of the Old Testament, the use of
flawed men and women as agents of Yahweh’s deliverance for a
chosen people. God uses earthen vessels to carry his life giving
water.
22-202 Cynthia Nielsen, University of Dallas
Paul and Slavery: Submit, Subvert or Something in Between?
Slavery, it seems, is one such issue where Christians might claim,
mutatis mutandis, that the recorded words of Paul nor the other
authors of the New Testament do not have the final or definitive word on a number of important socio-political and ethical
issues—issues that modern and postmodern people, believers
and atheists consider central concerns relevant to all human beings? These questions as they relate to slavery, such as whether
or not the institution of slavery is inherently evil and whether or
not Christians in the early church and in subsequent eras should
join in efforts seeking to abolish slavery are questions, the Bible
does not directly address. Although there is strong evidence in
the Bible itself that Jews and Christians accepted the institution
of slavery as a given state of affairs and did not directly call for
its abolition in any of the texts of Scripture, it does not follow (1)
that slavery with all of its concomitant assumptions and assertions is morally acceptable to God; (2) that slavery is a “natural”
state of human beings; (3) slavery is compatible with natural
law,;(4) that the Gospel message and Paul’s exhortations to masters and slaves did relatively little to challenge the socio-political
structures in place then but instead were primarily “spiritual” in
nature; or (5) that Christians today should not actively seek to
eradicate slavery in its various manifestations.
22-202 Richetta Amen, Graduate Theological Union
Prayer and Dangerous Memory
Dangerous Memory is the memory of suffering that causes us to
critique or question the system and stimulates our imaginations
and minds for social-political action. It makes us want to do
something so that the suffering will cease and so that the same
thing will not happen again and will not happen to us. This paper examines the concepts of dangerous memory and prayer
and will: 1) open with an overview of prayer by examining an
African American prayer that utilizes dangerous memory; 2)
offer a brief overview of my methodology: African American
hermeneutics; 3) present background information on the concept of dangerous memory; 4) discuss dangerous memory in
relation to Katrina and the American slave trade; 5) discuss
dangerous memory in relation to the gospel story. The New
Testament text that this paper examines is Luke 13:1–5. Along
with the use of the concept of dangerous memory, I use an Afri-
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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can American hermeneutic to suggest that there is danger when
one takes up the fight to alleviate the suffering of the oppressed.
But, there is a greater danger if oppressive power structures are
not toppled and replaced by Godly, liberating and life-affirming
structures.
22-203 James F. Strange, University of South Florida
Religion and Archaeology in Roman Galilee
This paper is part of a panel on ancient Galilee in honor of
Douglas Edwards.
22-205 Andrew Zack Lewis, University of St. AndrewsScotland
The Book of Job in Great Time
In Bakhtin’s later works, he discusses the lives of texts over the
course of centuries and suggests that a literary work exists not
merely in the era of its composition but “extends its roots into
the distant past” and subsequently “break[s] through the boundaries of [its] own time.” According to Bakhtin, each text lives in
“great time” and gains significance over various epochs. Thus,
to study a work as only a relic of a bygone era or conversely as a
personal communication to a modern reader today is to neglect
much of the book’s life. These insights are particularly important
for biblical scholars because they remind us that the Bible has
a richer life than merely what it said to its original audience or
what it says to readers today. Reception history has much to offer
in biblical interpretation as it bridges the polarizing tendencies
of historical-critical studies on the one hand, and pietistic or
reader-response criticisms on the other. In this paper I will show
how Bakhtin’s theories on great time, outsideness, and the utterance can help us understand the Book of Job more through its
reception history. The use of his critical theory will show that
even a so-called final form reading of Job misses much of what
the text has to say. The study of the book’s life throughout history will also raise the question of whether or not Job even has
a true “final form.” As the text responds to its interpreters, the
dialogue persists—indeed it is unfinalizable. Job’s unfinalizability, then, necessitates the study of reception history in order for
us to understand better the rich dialogical life Job has had with
his partners over the course of centuries.
22-205 Sara M. Koenig, Seattle Pacific University
Beyond Taxonomies: Aesthetic Activity in Biblical Characterization
For the past decade, biblical scholars have appropriated some of
Russian literary scholar and philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin’s concepts, with fruitful results. In particular, Bakhtin’s understanding
of carnival, dialogical truth, and the unfinalizability of human
discourse have been applied to a wide range of biblical texts.
What has received less attention is Bakhtin’s early essay, “Author
and Hero in Aesthetic Activity,” a work that has significant implications for literary characterization of biblical characters. This
paper will argue that Bakhtin’s challenge to literary criticism is
that characterization is something far richer and deeper than the
taxonomies into which we put characters. The aesthetic activity
Bakhtin describes and advocates is one that enriches both the
character and the one outside the character, such that both are
changed in the encounter. This type of aesthetic activity occurs
in the best literary characterization, as well as in real life.
22-205 Barbara Mei Leung Lai, Tyndale Seminary
What Would Bakhtin Say about Isaiah 21:1–12? A Re-reading
Unique to Isaiah 21:1–12 is the intertwining of the speaking
voices. There are monologues within dialogues and imaginary
dialogues within monologues. Sternberg (“The World from
the Addressee’s Viewpoint: Reception as Representation, Dia●
logue as Monologue,” Style 20 [1986]: 295–318) and Schökel (
A Manual of Hebrew Poetics [Editrice Pontifico Instituto Biblico, 1998]) have both succeeded in exemplifying the function
of, the intricacy between, and the indeterminacy in identifying—”monologue-dialogue” in the Hebrew Bible. In “Vision
and Voice in Isaiah” (JSOT 88 [2000]: 19–36), Landy has elucidated the interrelatedness between “voice and interiority.” I have
carried these views further in developing the Isaian “internal
profile” through the first-person texts in Isaiah (“Uncovering
the Isaian Personality: Wishful Thinking or Viable Task? Text
and Community: Essays in Memory of Bruce M. Metzger, vol.
2 [Sheffield Phoenix, 2007], pp. 82–100). At this juncture, the
impact of Bakhtin on biblical studies in the past decade calls for
some conceptual and methodological re-orientation. Incorporating the Bakhtinian perspectives on polyphony and dialogism,
I seek to revisit Isaiah 21:1–12 with newer angles of vision. It is
my high hope that this integrated reading may further expand
the horizon of readers and thus a fuller picture, a more sophisticated articulation of the Isaian “interiority” may emerge.
22-205 Beverly W. Cushman, Westminster College
Constructing Jerusalem: Time and Space in I Kings 6–7
The idea of the “chronotope” developed by Mikhail Bakhtin has
been used by Old and New Testament scholars with regard to
narrative. This paper proposes to use Bakhtin’s concept of the
chronotope to analyze the description of Solomon’s building
project found in I Kings 6–7. This description provides a number
of levels of time and space which can be further appreciated by
means of Bakhtin’s chronotope’s concern for spatial and temporal determination. I will argue that the development of a series of
what Jay Ladin calls “local chronotopes” serve as the foundation
of a major chronotope of construction which is colored by the
values expressed in the architecture and design expressed. This
use of time and space helps to clarify the significance of the description of Solomon’s building projects within the argument of
the Deuteronomistic Historian.
22-206 Richard Freund, University of Hartford
How the Dead Sea Scrolls Captured the Imagination of the
American Public: 1947–2008
Since it was heralded in 1948 by Professor Albright as the “greatest archaeological find of the century,” the Dead Sea Scrolls
have also become the most popular biblical (and non-biblical) texts known to the American public. During the past sixty
years, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been featured in thousands
of books, journals, newspaper and popular news monthly and
weeklys, television and radio broadcasts. The complicated and
often bizarre events associated with the Scrolls discoveries, their
dissemination and publishing is unprecedented in the annals
of archaeology. In addition to just the popular influence of the
Scrolls in general public, the Scrolls also influenced American
religious life through their dissemination and study in American
seminaries, synagogues and churches. The author will explore
how the Scrolls were understood in the popular media and how
this influence seems to have had a “trickle-down” effect into the
American pews.
22-206 Jason Tatlock, Armstrong Atlantic State University
Human Sacrifice in the Gospel Tract Tradition
This paper will take as its point of departure the graphic tract
tradition of Jack Chick, in which several sacrificial scenes and
representations of vicarious suffering are encountered. Such
portrayals of violence and bloodshed revolve around two fundamental concepts: the righteous sacrifice of the Christian Christ
and the immoral immolations associated with his chief adversary,
Satan. The former is presented as a substitutionary act of cleans-
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ing by which forgiveness for the masses is achieved, whereas the
latter is depicted as a reprehensible activity by which innocent
children and youth are exterminated. The motif of inappropriate
sacrifice is utilized, moreover, as a polemical device against such
practices as Halloween and abortion. This study will address
both the salvific and satanic sacrificial motifs by illustrating how
tracts embody popular opinions regarding the nature of biblically sanctioned sacrifice and its nefarious counterpart. Several
prominent biblical texts will be examined throughout the presentation, such as those connected to Molech, Baal, the Suffering
Servant, and the Passover lamb, all of which have found expression in Gospel tracts.
22-206 Linda S. Schearing, Gonzaga University
It’s Time for the End of the World (Again)! Apocalyptic Time, The
Bible and the Year 2012
There is an attraction to apocalyptic time and rhetoric that make
them perennial favorites in United States’ culture. The media and
publication hype surrounding the year 2000 is a good example
of how apocalyptic fear and anticipation can dominate popular discourse. By 2009, however, one might have expected that
Americans were now in “normal” time where apocalyptic expectations are less dominant. This, however, is not the case. This
paper examines current discourse in popular culture concerning the year 2012 that reflects, almost a decade after 2000, rising
apocalyptic expectations. Although this anticipation is usually
grounded in interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar, proponents are quick to link the calendar with biblical passages.
Such interpretations represent the flexibility of the apocalyptic
imagination in spite of the disappointment that post-apocalyptic
(post-2000) time inevitably brought.
22-206 Ryan Neal, Anderson University (SC)
Culture is the Context: Recent Artistic Depictions of Jesus Christ
“Jesus is my homeboy.” Recall the first time that you heard (or
read) this phrase. The popularity of this phrase and the iconic
depiction of Jesus as devoid of race (or certainly racially uncertain), and its subsequent reproduction onto t-shirts attests
to American Popular Culture’s profound influence on understandings of the Bible, especially the figure of Jesus. How one
understands the Bible and its depiction of Jesus is bound up with
theology, hermeneutics, important editorial judgments, and authorial intent related to nuance and medium. This is obvious in
film and music, but also in printed artistic depictions of Jesus.
This paper analyzes three works of pop-art from the latter half
of the 20th century which depict Jesus in unique contexts. Since
none of the works provides a clear scriptural contextual frame, a
question emerges: since Jesus is not located in a historical context, are these renderings favorable and endearing or offensive
and sacrilegious? The paper outlines the implications for each
piece: 1. The poster “Wanted: Jesus Christ” ties Jesus to the counter-cultural era of the 1960s, when revolution was a watchword.
2. Van Zan Frater’s iconic screen print “Jesus is My Homeboy”
is catchy, attempting to make Jesus familiar, and thus accessible
and friendly. 3. Stephen S. Sawyer’s “Undefeated” places Jesus in
the corner of a boxing ring, presumably after his latest victory.
American culture, rather than the art itself, provides the context
and the criterion. Each is a manifestation of popular culture’s
unquenchable need and ability to comment on faith, religion,
and the Bible.
22-207 J. Richard Middleton, Roberts Wesleyan College
The Role of Human Beings in the Cosmic Temple: The Intersection of Worldviews in Psalms 8 and 104
After Genesis 1–2, the Psalms contain more sustained reflections
on creation than perhaps any other section of Scripture. While
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various psalms allude to creation, and others focus on creation
in particular stanzas, Psalms 8 and 104 are devoted entirely to
this theme. Whereas Psalm 8 highlights the prominent, even
exalted, human role in the created order, Psalm 104 contextualizes humanity as but one creature among many in a complex
intertwined cosmos. Nevertheless, upon closer study it becomes
evident that both psalms share elements of a common worldview, including a remarkably similar view of what constitutes
being human, a conception of the world as a cosmic temple and
a rejection of the motif of creation-by-combat against primordial enemies. This paper will explore the diversity-in-unity of
Psalms 8 and 104, with a focus on how their shared and distinctive emphases may address the human vocation of the use of
power in a world conceived of as a sacred realm over which God
is enthroned, yet into which evil has intruded.
22-207 Stephen J. Lennox, Indiana Wesleyan University
“In Wisdom You Made Them All”: Creation Theology in Psalm
104 against the Background of the Ancient Near East
Psalm 104 not only portrays a well-developed theology of creation, but also an awareness of and fairly explicit response to
the creation theologies of its neighbors. This paper explores the
creation theology found in Psalm 104 against its ancient Near
Eastern background, focusing in particular on the belief, found
throughout the ANE, that the world was created according to
wisdom. For this reason, the world is an orderly place with laws
(both natural and moral) which humans can understand and by
which humans are expected to live. Noting similar views within
the ANE allows us to better understand the distinctions introduced by the author of Psalm 104 and helps clarify the reasons
for its troubling ending. Such a study also provides a clearer
understanding of creation theology in the Judeo-Christian tradition, including issues related to creation care.
22-207 Carol J. Dempsey, University of Portland
Creation Imagery in the Psalms: Its Beauty and Its Invitation
The psalms are lush in their use of creation imagery, and the
recent shift in biblical theology that locates the disclosure of the
Divine in creation as the starting point for revelation has profound implications not only for how we view creation but also
for how we relate to creation. This paper explores the theme of
creation and its imagery within the psalter in order to shed light
on what creation tells us about God and God’s ways,and the dynamic relationship that exists between God and God’s people.
The paper also looks at how creation can be a source of hope,
and how the natural world can be an agent of challenge, particularly for the human community today. In the Psalms, creation
offers the world community a compelling invitation and waits
for a response.
22-207 Victoria Hoffer, Yale University
Let the Heavens Rejoice! Imageries of Creation and Creator in the
Service of Psalms
Allusions to creation contribute to the poetic beauty, richness,
and joy of Psalms. Remarkably, these imageries and allusions are
never simple glorification or praise of natural phenomena; nor is
any one psalm devoted to creation as such. Rather, the psalmist
imports aspects of creation language, which s/he puts to use in a
variety of ways to contribute to the message or mood of the particular composition. Another way creation is recalled in Psalms
is by direct evocation of “the maker of heaven and earth.” This,
and other similar epithets, allows the psalmist to reveal facets of
the Deity’s character and power while drawing the reader’s attention to the first acts in Genesis. This presentation will discuss
the uses and effects of creation imageries in several psalms (e.g.,
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8, 19, 92, 96, 104), and will also tend to portrayals of the creator
in a range of psalmic settings (e.g., 33, 90, 119, 121, 136, 150).
22-207 John S. Vassar, Louisiana State University
Yahweh as Artisan: A Metaphor of Creation in the Hebrew
Psalter
The Psalter presents a multifaceted depiction of Yahweh. For
example, various studies have suggested that assorted Psalms
consistently depict Yahweh as King and/or Yahweh as Divine
Warrior. One underrepresented image utilized by the Psalter
is its association of Yahweh as artisan. This study argues that
through its use of creation psalms and its authorial association
with David, that the Psalter consistently depicts Yahweh as artist.
This study will also explore the implications of this metaphor as
they related to the final form of the Psalter.
22-210 Dominique Cote, University of Ottawa
Prophecy in the Pseudo-Clementines
The notion of the True Prophet, with its succession of reincarnations, from Adam to Jesus, is certainly one of the most original
elements of the Pseudo-Clementines theology. In the Homilies
and in the Recognitions, the doctrine of the Verus Propheta,
into which Clement is initiated at the beginning of the novel,
is presented as the keystone of the Apostle Peter’s teaching. The
opposition that we find in the Pseudo-Clementines between
philosophical truth and prophetical truth is the starting point
of my communication. In order to have a better comprehension
of that opposition, I think we should consider the fact that the
Pseudo-Clementine writings were written in the same period
(3rd and 4th centuries AD) during which Neoplatonists like Porphyry and Iamblichus devoted a great deal of energy in trying
to assign a fundamental role to prophecy and divine revelation
in their systems of thought. Both Neoplatonists and Christians
believed that truth was divinely revealed and that revelation
was channelled through prophecy and oracles. The rivalry between Neoplatonists and Christians and their confrontation on
issues like oracles gave rise to polemical works such as Porphyry’s Philosophy from Oracles and Against the Christians and
apologetical works such as Eusebius’ Preparation for the Gospel
and Lactantius Divine Institutes. In this communication I will
argue that insistence on prophecy in the Pseudo-Clementines,
as displayed in the doctrine of the True Prophet, can be better
understood if it is placed in the context of a rivalry between
Christians and Neoplatonists. Fully aware that the question of
the context of the Homilies and the Recognitions is difficult, I
propose however that the True Prophet theme is aimed not only
at Marcionites or readers who knew about Marcion, as H. J. W.
Drijvers (1990) argued, but at readers who knew about Neoplatonists as well.
22-210 Reidar Aasgaard, Faculty of Humanities, University
of Oslo
Father and Child Reunion: The Story of Joseph
Joseph is a central figure in the New Testament infancy narratives, but also in several later apocryphal writings. Whereas
Jesus’ father in the canonical gospels primarily has a place in
connection with Jesus’ birth, his role is in the apocryphal sources also developed on in other respects, both in relation to Jesus
as a child and as an adult. In the New Testament, Matthew is
the one to give Joseph the most prominent place (1–2; 13:55),
whereas Luke assigns to him a place in the shadow of Mary (1–
2; 3:23), and John gives him only a very subordinate role (1:45;
6:42). In the mid-2nd century Protevangelium of James and Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Joseph powerfully re-enters the stage:
in the former as the mature husband of Mary, in the latter as
paterfamilias in charge of his son’s upbringing, and with Mary
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being relegated to the periphery. Finally, in the 4–5th century
History of Joseph the Carpenter we come upon Joseph on his
deathbed, now as a patriarch and saintly figure, with Jesus sitting
by his side. The paper will trace the trajectory of the Joseph figure through this material and analyze the changes taking place
in his role. In the paper, I shall also discuss what are the factors
reflected in and contributing to these changes. Some central factors are likely to have been the narrative dynamics within the
Joseph tradition, contemporary views on gender and family, and
the specific theological concerns of each of these writings. In the
paper, I shall particularly focus on the interplay between these
factors, and how this serves to shape and alter Joseph’s relationship to the other members of the holy family.
22-210 Lily Vuong, McMaster University
Mary as Temple Sacrifice in the Protevangelium of James
Scholars have long interpreted Jesus’ Passion and crucifixion
as sacrificial and have noted the connection between Jesus and
Isaac and their identification as the “first-born” and “beloved
Son” given up for sacrifice. Jon D. Levenson argues that it is the
timing of Jesus’ execution in particular (i.e., during Passover)
that accounts for the Gospel’s association of him with the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, and therefore as the man who will take
away the sins of the world and who will die according to the laws
governing the offering of the paschal sacrifice. Jesus’ ultimate
sacrifice is fundamental to Christian notions concerning sin and
redemption, and also to new ideas concerning the Temple, Cult,
and Sacrifice as distinct from those practiced in ancient Judaism. But what significance, if any, would Jesus’ mother, Mary,
have as a sacrifice? In the second to early third century apocryphal narrative the Protevangelium of James, Mary is described in
terms akin to a Temple sacrifice and is even portrayed as a sort
of Temple herself in the text. Interestingly, Mary’s depiction as a
sacrifice is understood in terms of the Jewish sacrificial system as
she is prepared according to Jewish Temple regulations concerning purity and holiness and is presented to the Temple priests as
a gift to the Lord. In this paper, I will consider whether Mary’s
presentation as a sacrificial gift serves to foreshadow her Son’s
sacrifice or even replicate events in history (e.g., from physical
Jerusalem Temple and practiced sacrifice to the spiritualization
of sacrifice and temple) on the one hand, and explore the process
of Mary as sacrifice as an act of imitatio Dei, on the other. In this
way, an examination of Mary as sacrifice in the Protevangelium
of James may provide new insights into how Jewish practices
concerning sacrifice, purity, holiness and the Temple were interpreted and understood.
22-210 Tony Burke, York University
Christian Apocrypha in Ancient Libraries
Several of the most prominent literary discoveries of the past
century have been the contents of ancient libraries—i.e., collection of texts, rather than single texts or single codices. Many
of these libraries include Christian apocryphal literature. The
Oxyrhynchus site, for example, includes material that may have
derived from a Christian scriptorum or that was borrowed/copied from the library of Alexandria. Among the texts found at the
site are fragments of the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter,
the Gospel of Mary, the Acts of Paul, the Acts of Peter, the Acts
of John, the Gospel of Mary, and two unidentified apocrypha.
The Bodmer Papyri (aka the Dishna Papers), which may have
belonged to a monastery library, include the Infancy Gospel of
James and 3 Corinthians. And, the most well-known collection
of Christian apocrypha, the Nag Hammadi Library, which may
have originated at a nearby Pachomian monastery, features numerous apocryphal texts including the Gospel of Thomas and
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the Gospel of Philip. This paper reviews the manuscript evidence
of the apocryphal texts from these libraries to get a sense of how
the texts were regarded by those who collected them. Do they
exhibit any of the features typically found in manuscripts that
derive from ancient libraries? Are the apocryphal texts treated
any differently than any other texts in the collections? Given
the place of the apocryphal texts in each collection, what can
be said of the interests of the person or group that used them?
The paper includes also a discussion of allusions in early Christian literature to other ancient Christian libraries that contained
apocryphal texts.
22-212 Kathleen E. Corley, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Celebratory Meals of the Kingdom of God and Meals of Jesus’
Presence: From Jesus and Q to the Didache and the Eucharist
This paper charts a trajectory from the meals held in the Jesus
Movement itslef and Q and Thomas which celebrated inclusivity
and joy, but did not focus on the presence of Jesus or his impending death, through the meals of the earliest Christians which did
celebrate and memorialize the presnece of Jesus, and eventually,
memorialized his death. Attention will be given to the meals
tradition in the Didache in particular, which probably has two
meals rather than one meala proper, one which was a Eucharist
and one which was not, but was a meal of Jesus’ presence where
“all were filled,” It is my contention thatthe second meal is ealrier than the first and is an archaic practice of Northern Galilee
which called for Jesus to “come to the meal” (Maranatha). The
paer is a chapter from my forthcoming book with Fortress Press,
Maranatha: Funerary Meals, Lament, WOmen and Christian
Origins. I would llike to interact with Didache scholars in the
writing of this chapter.
22-212 Joseph Mueller, Marquette University
Review of J. Schwiebert, Knowledge and the Coming Kingdom:
The Didache’s Meal Ritual in its Place in Early Christianity
This paper will review the recent book by Jonathan Schwiebert,
Knowledge adn the Coming Kingdom: The Didache’s Meal
Ritual and its Place in Early Christianity. It will begin from the
perspective of the place of the Didache as a particular form of
ancient internpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures.
22-212 Nancy Pardee, Saint Xavier University
The Text of the Didache: Revisiting Codex Hierosolymitanus 54
In the past, evaluations of the text of the Didache as attested in
H54 have truly run the gamut. On the one hand it has been characterized as a late product of an unskilled redactor (Peterson),
one that, in comparison to other witnesses, provides a relatively poorer recension (Wengst). Others uphold its witness as an
ancient recension that represents a “prototype” from Christian
antiquity (Rordorf/Tuilier). Given that H54 remains the only
(nearly?) complete and the least adulterated witness to the Didache in the original Greek and that the Didache is consistently,
even increasingly, used to support various theories on the state
of early Christianity, a new investigation of its place among the
other text witnesses is warranted. This paper will reexamine the
evidence for determining the value of the text of the Didache
as found in the Jerusalem manuscript, focusing specifically on
extracting the information that can be gleaned from the manuscript itself. It will include information of a paleographical nature
that speaks to the physical extent of the Didache as represented
in H54 as well as an examination of the text for any revisional
features reportedly seen in other works found therein.
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22-212 Jonathan A. Draper, University of KwaZulu-Natal
The Moral Economy of the Didache
This paper utilizes economic theory developed in the study of
pre-industrial economies, in which economic exchange is seen
to involve reciprocity, redistribution and market exchange (Polanyi). Sahlins’ model for ancient peasant societies argues that
they differ in viewing economic production from the point of
view of a fixed base (“limited goods”) rather than on openended expanding production as in modern societies. They base
production on social units for kinship, with the goal of securing their livelihood based on the “principle of need.” Reciprocity
and redistribution is a relation between parties aimed at symmetry, in which there are three recognizable forms of reciprocity:
“Generalized reciprocity,” “Balanced reciprocity and “Negative
reciprocity.” Following the lines explored by Rohrbaugh and
Moxnes, this paper applies the theory of “moral economy” to
the economic relations which can be discerned across the whole
of the Didache, which have rarely received much attention apart
from the attempt to argue that it does or does not derive from
a rural milieu (Harnack, Kraft, Niederwimmer, contra Schöllgen).
22-213 Janelle Peters, Emory University
Female Power in the Bath Motif in Ephesians and Contemporary
Greco-Roman Aesthetics
This paper situates the metaphor of the bath in Eph. 5:25–27
in the contemporary artistic motif of female bathing. Both in
Christian and Greco-Roman circles, the bath began to acquire
associations of female power in the mid-first to early second
centuries CE. In Christian circles, there was a shift away from
the earlier Jewish model of Susanna’s suffering after her bath and
Jubilees’ understanding that Reuben and Bilhah’s liaison arose
from her bath. Instead, Rhoda has rights concerning her bath in
the Shepherd of Hermas. Similarly, the humiliating bath in Callirhoe becomes the empowering one in Daphnis and Chloe. This
literary trend coincided with the late first and early second centuries CE artistic trend of portraying elite women in the guise
of Venus bathing. Significantly, Daphnis and Chloe offers private couples’ bathing as a reversal of societal oppression, much
as the Gospel of John reverses the traditional hierarchy with
footwashing while promoting a more just society. Ephesians,
then, replicates this contemporary literary trend rhetorically.
Reading Ephesians with contemporary intertexts enhances the
egalitarian mode of these verses. Original audiences could have
understood a far more intricate counterbalance to the discussion of the female subordination in Ephesians’ Haustafeln than
previously thought.
22-213 Daniel K. Darko, University of Scranton
The Household of Man in the Household of God: Kinship Lexemes in Early Christian Identity Construction in Ephesians
The function of kinship lexemes (father, sons,etc.) in the social
and moral identity construction of Ephesians has received little
or no attention in the way it relates to the quest for unity in the
readership. This paper examines how these lexemes are utilized
to promote a sense of belonging in the house churches at a micro level and in the macro household of God (universal church),
reinterpreting the philosophical maxim that order in the household helps to shape order in society (oikos-polis linkage) into
how a sense of belonging in the household and house church(es)
relate to the universal church (oikos-ecclesia linkage). Consequently, it becomes clear that the household code stands as a
strategic and integral part of the author’s rhetorical, social and
moral framework to promote internal cohesion—not as an af-
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terthought or an integrative mechanism for social engagement
with the outside world, as has been argued by others.
22-213 Julien C. H. Smith, Baylor University
The Characterization of the Christ as Ideal King in Ephesians
Lack of consensus regarding an historical situation that occasioned the writing of Ephesians has led to a recent trend in
research, which seeks to read the letter as addressing more
broadly the related issues of identity formation and behavior
within the early Christian community. The present study will argue that in Ephesians, the characterization of the Christ as a type
of ideal king, as understood within Jewish and Greco-Roman
thought, would have resonated with the authorial audience’s
cultural expectations, thereby ensuring comprehension of the
letter’s argument and purpose. The letter’s primary theme, the
reunification of the fractured cosmos through the Christ (1:9–
10), comes into sharper focus when the Christ is understood as
the ideal king who establishes on earth the harmony that is understood to exist in the cosmos. Furthermore, salient aspects of
the ideal king’s reign function as unifying threads that tie various parts of the letter together under its main theme. “Learning
the Christ” (4:20), or the resocialization into a way of life aligned
with the Christian community, addresses the enablement of
ethical behavior. This peculiar expression reflects the Hellenistic
understanding of the ideal king as a “living law,” possessing and
distributing the benefits of divine reason and virtue. The casting
of traditional household management codes into the realm of
the Christ’s authority (5:22–6:9) reflects the belief that the reign
of the ideal king ensures the stability of the social order. Above
all, the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles within the Christian
community (2:11–22) resonates with a pervasive cultural yearning for unity between disparate ethnic groups, and for freedom
from factionalism within the social order. In both Greco-Roman
and Jewish thought, such a golden age was thought to be the
consequence of the reign of an ideal king.
22-213 Bruce Clark, University of Cambridge
Why Colossians 1.24 is So Darn Difficult? Meta-critical Reflections on What Is Lacking in Its History of Interpretation (and
How We Might Fill It Up)
Nearly all scholars call Col. 1.24 a crux; few, if any, ask why it is.
Undoubtedly there are ‘difficult’ texts, and this may be no exception. But sometimes a text’s ‘difficulty’ can, to some degree,
reflect its failure to conform to established/presumed methods,
doctrines, ‘centers’ of an author’s thought, or particular backgrounds, so that in truth this difficulty reveals more about its
readers than it does the text. We begin by making a curious
methodological observation: the verse has been analyzed with
not merely breathtaking but suffocating atomism; Phil. 3, 2 Cor.
1, 4; Rom 8, etc. (and/or some Jewish and/or Greco-Roman
‘background’) are immediately hired for what is the exegetical
equivalent of an off-shore business venture, leaving the verse’s immediate context out of a job; why? Exegetically and rhetorically,
are we on the right track when the verse’s literary context—especially the preceding section running from v 12 to v 23 in all its
apparent redemptive-historical ‘once-and-for-all’-ness—is (with
few exceptions) portrayed as hostile to the supposedly awkward
‘lack’ of v 24; did the author really intend to throw his audience
such an impressive rhetorical/communicative curve ball, or is it
only the modern interpreter who perceives it as such and therefore swings according—and misses every time? What does it
say when the lion’s share of (mostly Protestant) commentators
begin their analysis of v 24b by explaining what the verse does
not mean? Then proceeding to a final, more theological observation: supposing for a minute that tou Christou actually refers
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to Christ (arguably the most straightforward reading, yet undoubtedly up for grabs), might there be categories in which to
place and by which to give expression to Christ’s afflictions in
addition to soteriological and exemplary? After exploring a few
possible categories, we will briefly sketch a simple way forward:
how might the tou Christou of 24 actually be referring back to
the Christos of vv 15–20?
22-214 Catherine Jones, University of Toronto (St. Michael’s College)
Theatre of Shame: A New Reading of 1 Corinthians 9:1–18 in
light of the Implications of Paul’s Manual Labour
For many scholars, Paul is viewed as having freely chosen to engage in manual labour to safeguard his freedom as an apostle
of Christ. Using 1 Cor 9:1–18 as the interpretative key, Paul is
seen as refusing the material support offered to him by the Corinthian congregation, financial support that was rightfully his
given Paul’s accepted status as an apostle. Such an interpretation,
however, fails to take into account the fact that 1 Cor 9:1–18 is a
problematic text in that it is unable to explain other texts in the
Pauline corpus where manual labour is portrayed as a scenario
of shame and dishonour. I will demonstrate that manual labourers in an ancient Mediterranean context were deemed slavish
and contemptible. The life of a manual labourer was analogous
to a theatre of shame, a picture that is confirmed by Paul himself. Thus, Paul’s descriptions of the context and implications of
his manual labour suggest that he was not as self-evidently an
apostle as he appears to contend in 1 Cor 9:1–18.
22-214 Alicia Batten, University of Sudbury
The Economic Roles of Women in the Early Church: Understanding Patristic Criticism of Adornment
John H. Elliott observes in his commentary on 1st Peter (2000)
that patristic writers show more interest in 1 Pet 3:1–6, which
includes instruction to wives not to adorn themselves, than
they do in other texts that one might anticipate would interest
them, such as those dealing with Christological and soteriological issues. This paper explores the church fathers’ treatment
of women’s adornment in the context of the economic roles of
jewellery and clothing for ancient women in general. Gems,
hairpieces, and fine clothes were important forms of portable
wealth for women in antiquity, and as scholars have made clear,
many rich women were supporters of individuals and communities within the early church. The paper will argue that patristic
criticism of women’s adornment, which is more intensified than
the criticism found in the New Testament, must be understood
not only as a reflection of the generally negative view of wealth
display as well of as the standard attitude that ideally women be
modest and unadorned, but in light of the complicated issues of
women’s economic roles in the early church.
22-214 Helen Rhee, Westmont College
Social Aequitas in Lactantius’ Divine Institutes
My paper will examine the ways in which Lactantius constructed social aequitas in between the Golden Ages (first, pagan and
then Christian). For Lactantius, the Golden Age of Saturn was
the time of the worship of one God, whose law established justice, particularly aequitas, in sharing of the personal property
by the rich with the poor. However, the tyranny of Jupiter, who
turned people away from monotheism, brought about gross injustice and therefore gross inequality, indicated by unbridled
manifestation of greed and exploitation by the rich. Subsequently, justice returned with the worship of Christ for the few;
but the Golden Age did not return with him since too many are
still worshipping the wrong, multiple gods. The Golden Age of
justice (hence aequitas) will be restored only with the second
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coming of Christ. Then, how does Lantantius envision aequitas
in the time between these Golden Ages? While Lactantius criticized Greeks and Romans for failing justice because of built-in
social inequality in their fundamental social distinctions, he did
not actually believe in a society whose members were economically equal or where there was common ownership of property.
Quite the contrary, for Lactantius, justice in a sense of aequitas
consists not of banishing personal property but of following the
divine law of mutual love and care (i.e., works of charity) based
on the bond of humanity. Lactantius understands the common
bond of humanity as the basis of aequitas and as such, aequitas
demands that the works of charity be directed to the poor and
the desperate (“the needy and the useless”)—entirely irrespective of their spiritual worthiness and reciprocity.
22-214 Augustine Casiday, University of Wales
The Love of Money and the Monastic Exegesis of 1 Timothy 6:10
Monastic renunciation in early Christianity was frequently justified by recourse to St Paul’s warning to Timothy that ‘the love
of money is the root of all evil’ (1 Tim 6:10). Having been assigned such an important place by the Apostle, ‘love of money’
(philagyria; amor pecuniarum) was to all intents and purposes
assured a central role in the moral literature of early Christian
asceticism. Thanks above all to the writings of Evagrius Ponticus
and John Cassian, it enters the canon of ‘eight wicked thoughts’
that is the forerunner to Gregory the Great’s ‘seven deadly sins.’
Given the intercalation of philagyria and the need to renounce
possessions in Evagrius and Cassian’s writings, it is easy to suppose that they would have taken a straightforward line on the
problem of ownership. However, a closer look at those writings reveals this not to have been the case. Instead, even though
they took the Pauline formula for their point of departure, both
monks were ambivalent toward money and other possessions.
This ambivalence is conspicuous, firstly, in contemporary biographical accounts of Cassian, Evagrius, and their peers that
shed additional light on financial aspects of semi-eremtic life in
Egypt. Taking cues from those accounts, it is possible to return
to Cassian’s and Evagrius’ works once more and note that their
words of warning are placed in a specific context and in fact are
not unequivocal. By considering in some detail their monastic
exegesis of 1 Tim 6:10, it will be possible to glean insights not
only into how they implemented scriptural categories but also
how they conceived of legitimate ownership.
22-214a Joseph Verheyden, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Eusebius and Biblical Scholarship : Soundings Back and Forth
(And Back Again)
Will review recent scholarship on Eusebius and the Bible.
22-214a Michael Hollerich, University of St. Thomas
Eusebius, the Psalter and the Creation of Christian Literary
Culture
Will show the importance of Eusebius’ Commentary on the
Psalms for understanding his role in the development of biblical
interpretation.
22-214a Jeremy Schott, University of North Carolina at
Charlotte
Eusebius, Isaiah and Empire
Will discuss the importance of Eusebius’ Commentary on Isaiah
for postcolonial readings of early Christianity.
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22-214a Bart Ehrman, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Eusebius of Caesarea and the Biblical Text
Will discuss the importance of Eusebius for understanding the
history of NT texts.
22-215 David L. Petersen, Emory University
Prophetic Rhetoric and Exile
In this paper, I will discuss the primary influences on prophetic
literature concerning exile. These factors include ancient Near
Eastern discourse about exile and Yahwistic traditions about Israel’s eligibility to remain in its territory as well as reports about
Israel’s and Judah’s experiences of exile.
22-215 Louis Stulman, University of Findlay
Speaking on Behalf of the Losers: Reading Ezekiel as Disaster/
Survival Literature
War ravages and debilitates; it numbs the senses and renders
ordinary language useless. It shatters dreams and constructions
of self and community. War devastates everyone, but it annihilates the losers; bodies are desecrated, families are splintered,
faith is destroyed and voices are shamed into silence. No wonder
we rarely read the stories of the defeated or see a human face
on the displaced. The book of Ezekiel is a stunning exception
to the rule: it speaks on behalf of the losers, the dispossessed,
the disappeared. It bears witness to their pain. It lines out their
abyss in a wide range of expressions. And perhaps most remarkably, it imagines their survival. This paper argues that Ezekiel
is a survival trajectory for the crushed and conquered, or more
modestly, it suggests that Ezekiel is literature of resistance in the
struggle for community survival.
22-215 Christopher Seitz, Wycliffe College, University of
Toronto
Provenance and Interpretation: Isaiah 40—66
This paper will discuss the role of provenance in interpretation
and how this emerged with force when chaps 40ff of Isaiah were
disconnected from what preceded. How does provenance and a
suggested ‘exilic setting’ for sections of 40—66 affect interpretation, and how is this model under negotiation at present?
22-215 Stephen L. Cook, Virginia Theological Seminary
Second Isaiah and the Aaronid Response to Judah’s Exile (Forced
Migrations)
The exile (forced migrations) of Judah provoked a specific set of
theological reflections among the Aaronid tradents of the Priestly Torah. The poetic prophecies of Second Isaiah present us with
an impressive sampling of these priestly reflections, revealing
their particular themes, motifs, and concerns oriented on a
theology of reverence before the numinous otherness of God.
This paper will outline the social provenance of Second Isaiah’s
Aaronid tradents and examine several of the Aaronid marks
characterizing Second Isaiah’s unique handling of the exile. It
will highlight the distinctiveness of Isaiah’s theology of exile over
against the very different approach to these forced migrations
apparent in the book of Ezekiel and in the book of Jeremiah.
22-215 David McLain Carr, Union Theological Seminary
Markers of Potential Exilic Dating of Biblical Literature
This paper considers the methodological potentials and challenges for dating any Biblical Literature to the period of Babylonian
exile. Some past proposals of markers of exilic dating will be
considered. New ones will be proposed. And these will be applied to the prophetic corpus, with a particular focus on certain
themes (redirection of oracles toward Babylon, for example) and
modes (e.g. the use of polemical humor).
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22-216 Timothy Brookins, Baylor University
Luke 18:35–43 as a Rhetorical Paraphrase of Mark 10:46–52
“The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus,” as it is called in reference to
Mark 10:46–52, has been taken over and restated with various
changes in Luke 18:35–43. This paper takes a literary-rhetorical approach to these changes, with a view to determine what
effect these revisions of Mark would have had on Luke’s contemporary audience. Luke’s rhetorical use of Mark in the pericope
itself is also considered in relation to the larger journey motif
(9:51–19:44) of which it is a part, and which is patterned after
that of 2 Kings 2:1–11. The Lukan version of the healing story
is assessed, vis-à-vis that of Mark, particularly in light of the ancient rhetorical practice of παράφρασις (“paraphrase”), in which
a writer would “change the form of expression while keeping the
thoughts” (Theon, Prog. 107; Kennedy, 70). Such “paraphrase”
could occur by variation in syntax, by addition, by subtraction,
and by substitution. The paper looks at Luke’s engagement with
addition, subtraction, and substitution in telling the healing
story, in terms of how these contribute to the Gospel’s characterization of three characters: Jesus, the “blind man,” and the
λαός (“people”). In the case of each character, it is argued that
Luke’s paraphrase of Mark, in conjunction with his larger literary context, enhances characterization by supporting a favorable
portrait of one character over against some character opposite or
inferior to him. This rhetorical practice of comparison, known
as “syncrisis,” is the primary tool used for assessing the results of
Luke’s paraphrase.
22-216 Katherine J. Veach, Claremont Graduate University
Jesus Ex Machina: Luke 24:36–53 and Tragic Closure
The author of Luke narrates Jesus’ ascension in Luke 24:36–53
and again in Acts 1:6–11. That these scenes, written by the same
authorial hand, differ in their details has resulted in a myriad
of creative—yet unsatisfying—explanations. The key to understanding the differences in these accounts is not in the analysis
of detail, but rather in the understanding that Luke utilized the
Euripidean deus ex machina scene in order to close the Gospel.
This paper outlines the remarkably static formula of the deus
ex machina scene found in nine extant plays of Euripides, then
demonstrates how Luke employs this device to serve both a literary and a theological function. Luke’s use of Euripides’ signature
closure replicates the emotional gravitas found in Greek tragedy
while allowing the resurrected Jesus to assume a clearly divine
role. The ascension scene is thus not concerned with historical
veracity, but with imitating a tragic model. The deus ex machina
scene in Luke serves a dual purpose—it functions as a bridge
to Acts while reinforcing Luke’s message of the divinity of the
resurrected Jesus.
22-216 Chang-Wook Jung, Chongshin University
Luke’s Use of a Written Greek Source or Sources in the Infancy
Narrative
Most scholars recently admit that Luke imitated the style of the
Septuagint in the Gospel of Luke, especially in the Infancy Narrative, though a few commentators still assume that Luke relied
on a Hebrew source or sources. While this tendency is proven
correct, another possible influence is easily ignored by scholars:
Luke depended on a written Greek source or sources as well as
the LXX for the composition of the Infancy Narrative. The issue
centers on whether one can suggest any evidence which lends
support to this argument. This study will enlist some stylistic
features in the Narrative that manifestly demonstrate Luke’s dependence on a written Greek source or sources. Such features
should belong to neither the style of Luke nor that of the LXX.
This investigation is indirectly related to the Synoptic problem,
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since it may prove the presence of another possible Greek source
for the Gospel of Luke apart from Matthew and Mark.
22-217 Ingrid Lilly, Western Kentucky University
Greek Ezekiel in Light of Second Maccabees and Jerusalem in the
2nd Century BCE
Several textual variants between the Greek and Hebrew editions of Ezekiel are probably late editorial features. This paper
interrogates these features for their inter-textuality with the
Hellenization of Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE. The Greek
description of the temple in Ezek 40–43 adopts Greek linguistic features that bring the temple closer to the Antiochene
temple in Jerusalem. Second Maccabees serves as an especially
relevant inter-text. II Macc’s recitation of military events surrounding Antiochus Epiphanes and Nicanor deploy language
and theology found in variants in Ezekiel’s oracles against Tyre
and Gog/Magog. Moreover, Ezekiel’s nasi’ and his critiques of
temple personnel resemble the characterization of Judas and the
dynamics of reversing the desecration of the Jerusalem temple.
The results of this inter-textual study demonstrate how significant the Hellenistic 2nd century was to the editorial history of
Ezekiel.
22-217 Tony Michael, York University
Wisdom in Baruch: A “Road” Less Traveled
Baruch is not specifically a member of the Twelve Prophets but
he did go on to achieve prophetic status and contained within
the book named after him is a section seen as wisdom literature.
Our author, borrowing from previous wisdom motifs offers a
unique understanding that is only recorded in Greek and often
misread by modern commentators. It is this perspective that will
be explored and a new conclusion offered about what the point
of his reworked presentation of older motifs was. Wisdom itself
is secondary to his interest. He is offering an insight into “Way
Theology” that caters more to Rabbinic interests and less to Early Christian interests as has been the consensus of scholarship.
22-217 John W. Taylor, Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary
From Proof to Text: Mapping Hebrews’ Messianic Exploration of
the Psalms
Older scholarship stressed the use within the early Christian
community, including Hebrews, of a common pool of messianic
proof texts, taken largely from the Psalms. But a feature of Hebrews’ use of the Greek Bible is how messianic resources are also
found in places not frequented by other New Testament writers,
both within recognized messianic Psalms, and in other texts altogether. A growing body of work has shown that the author of
Hebrews not only reads scriptures with careful regard to their
context, but also finds links to other passages on the basis of a
network of thematic and linguistic parallels, often stimulated by
the Greek translation which is used. This paper attempts to map
the reading strategy of Hebrews, and suggests that the author
has moved from proof text to context, and from familiar messianic passages to the unfamiliar, in an exploratory and creative
process which is driven by both verbal connections and theological convictions.
22-217 Martin Meiser, Universität des Saarlandes
Ancient Christian Exegesis of Psalms and Ancient Philology on
Homer
Issues of Alexandrian philology on Homer have influenced
Jewish exegetes like Demetrius and Philo, but also Christian exegetes like Origen. Christian reading of Psalms as related to Jesus
Christ is by no means a proper method of interpretation in our
times but—that is the main thesis of my paper—does not imply
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a full break between Christian and Greco-Roman exegesis. Moral critique, prosopographic exegesis, and the counterbalancing
of contradictions are tasks for ancient Christian interpretation
of the Bible in analogy to ancient philology on Homer; and this
kind of exegesis was necessary for Christian authors in order to
give answers to ancient critics of Christianity. This paper will offer examples for each of these issues.
22-218 Amy Meverden, New York University
The Concubine of Judges 19 As a Bare Life Figure: The Relationship of Agamben’s Bare Life to Subaltern Studies
The following paper considers the account of the concubine in
Judges 19 in light of subaltern studies and Giorgio Agamben’s
Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. The study of Judges
19 within the purview of the political disciplines, particularly
discussions of economic distribution, modes of operation, kinship models, and issues of citizenship and social class, increase
the fullness of the biblical account. The four sections of this paper include comparison of Judges 19 and the familial mode of
production; discussion of the term pîlegeš and Gayle Rubin’s “exchange of women”; explication of sacrifice and Agamben’s work
on bare life as it pertains to the concubine; and a comparison of
subaltern and bare life constructions. This paper contends that
the concubine in Judges 19 is a bare life figure: one who exists
beneath the social stratum designated as subaltern, whose body
is not sacrificed, yet is expendable without consequence.
22-218 Francis Borchardt, University of Helsinki
The (Re-)Imagination of Israel in Ben Sira’s Praise of the Ancestors
This paper seeks to show how Ben Sira recasts the ethnos of Israel according to new and distinct qualities through his Praise
of the Ancestors (Sirach 44–50). The hypothesis is that these
symbols of the people and their highlighted characteristics are
particularly chosen to effect a new identity for Israel. This identity allowed it to cope with the increasing influence of the foreign
cultures Hellenistic world.
22-218 Jeremiah W. Cataldo, Grand Valley State University
When the Politics of Theocracy and the Visions of Utopia Meet
the Structures of Society
Yehud offers us a stage for an analysis of two political subjects,
theocracy and utopia (the latter drawing from T. More, K.
Mannheim, and K. Marx). Yehud was neither. The authors of
certain Persian-period Hebrew texts (e.g., Ezra-Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah), however, believed that ‘restoration’ would
inaugurate a utopian theocratic state. It could only be ‘utopian’
because a theocracy had never before existed and the authors
interpreted it as a perfect environment where obedience and
loyalty insured success. This paper will offer a working definition of theocracy tenable to political theory and flesh out the
components of actual theocracies through cross-cultural case
studies. It will then demonstrate where the society of Yehud
failed to be a theocracy and why a theocracy remained solely
within the utopian dreams of the golah community.
22-218 Blaire French, University of Virginia
Jacob’s Ark: Genesis 49:1–27 as the Founding of a Polity
This paper argues that Jacob’s testament represents a coherent
plan for the transference of rule at a most precarious time. None
of Jacob’s sons has experienced a theophany, raising the question
whether any of them has standing to rule—or even to be governed—in the name of the divine covenant. Establishing “new
modes and orders” (to use Machiavelli’s terms) is one of the most
difficult tasks that any political leader can undertake. Using literary methods, we will show that Jacob’s testament attempts to
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create a new constitution to preserve Israel as a stable and sanctified community. Jacob seeks to do so by resting his innovation
in part on the authority derived from tradition in a manner that
is reminiscent of the sort of advice that Edmund Burke might
have offered. The new is partly cloaked with the veneration of
the sacred past. Our methods and findings stand in contrast
to those of contemporary scholars such as Raymond de Hoop
(Genesis 49 and its Literary and Historical Context) and David
M. Carr (Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches) who consider Genesis 49 to be an anomalous
intrusion within the biblical narrative. Specifically, in the story
of the flood (Gen. 6–9) Jacob glimpses a reconfiguration of the
world similar in magnitude to what his children are about to experience. Through language and imagery, his testament fashions
a parallel: the conditions that led to the first covenant between
God and humankind are strikingly similar to those that prevail
now with his impending death. By means of this parallel, Jacob
sanctifies a new political order. In doing so, he also sanctifies
human initiative, making his last act his best.
22-218 Douglas Yoder, Los Angeles, CA
Prosperity in Exile? Daniel in Babylon
Theoretical approaches to poverty and prosperity often assume
a society at peace, but wars reallocate wealth with greater force
and rapidity than any other means. Outcomes of conflict provide
extreme examples in history of both prosperity (the victorious,
who are enriched in a variety of ways by the defeated) and poverty (the conquered, who are deprived of their possessions and
often enslaved). In the biblical literature descriptions of the Exile
portray the ruin of the people, land, and culture of Israel as a
result of military conquest. Exile is a state of utter material and
cultural impoverishment, second only to slavery as an extreme
opposite to prosperity. The Book of Daniel begins by speaking
of the warring kings who bring about its conditions, and then
immediately depicts King Nebuchadnezzar (the victorious and
prosperous) as about to fabulously enrich some Israelites (the
defeated and impoverished) by extensively preparing them, at
the king’s expense, to enter the Babylonian civil service. For
Daniel and his companions this might seem a Cinderella answer to multi-dimensional poverty, but Daniel 1 deconstructs
the fairy tale. Machiavelli’s Prince helps us read it as a colonialist stratagem aimed at suborning and controlling a notoriously
troublesome people group. Daniel’s own resistance in Daniel 1
to an uncritical passage from extreme poverty to extreme prosperity decenters the paradigm of “poverty and prosperity” itself,
and contemporary economic theories that assume its determinative governance in either war or peace.
22-218a Hananel Mack, Bar-Ilan University
Echoes of the Judeo-Christian Polemic in the Biblical Commentaries of the Sages
The sages did not interpret the Bible in a sequential fashion, in
the manner of the medieval rabbinic scholars. Instead, in their
halakhic and aggadic literature they primarily left us a non-sequential array of commentaries on the verses of the Bible. Many
of these commentaries reflected the reality of their lives, including the religious polemic with the Christian world, particularly in
the third and fourth centuries C.E. in Palestine. Sermons against
the Jews appear already in the New Testament, and later, in the
writings of the Church Fathers, such as Justin Martyr, Origen,
Jerome. We will discuss several examples of anti-Christian components in the commentaries of the sages as well as a number
of practices relating to prayer and the synagogue service which
should be understood against the background of the religious
conflict between Jews and Christians in the early centuries.
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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Based on the verse “Write thou these words” (Exod. 34:27), the
sages learned that the words of the Bible should be written out,
but the words of the Oral Law should not. They thus underscored
the distinction between the Bible, which is in written format and
familiar to one and all, and the Oral Law, which belongs solely
to the Jews. The sages understood the words of Balaam, “God is
not a man, that he should lie” (Num. 23:19) as pointing to the
clear distinction between God and man: should a man come and
say, I am God, that man is lying! They interpreted the verse in
the Song of Songs “Look not upon me, that I am swarthy” (1:6)
as the words of the Jewish nation to the world, which explain the
hatred towards the Jewish people. The verse “Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:3) was interpreted by the sages as
referring to the holiness of God who is in the heavens, on earth
and in the future, thus rejecting the Christian interpretation that
the verse is referring to the Trinity. The important place of the
verse “Hear, O Israel… the Lord is One” (Deut. 6:4) in Jewish liturgy was apparently intended to emphasize the oneness of God
and thus negate the Christian Trinity. In addition, the reading of
chapters of the Prophets in the synagogue, Haftara’s (Heb.: Haftarot), reflects a distancing from chapters which the Christians
regarded as the foundation stones of their faith.
22-218a Joshua Garroway, Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion
A New Sort of a Priest for a New Sort of People: Reconfiguring
Descent in Hebrews and Romans
This study proposes that Hebrews in its primary socio-historical
context was an interpretation of Paul’s epistle to the Romans,
designed to clarify aspects of that epistle for a readership devoted to its content. As others already have suggested, internal
and external evidence bespeak a relationship between the two
texts. According to this study, the grist for Hebrews‚ mill is Paul’s
claim, in Rom 3:21ff., that Christ’s death as a hilasterion not only
offers atonement apart from the Law for those who believe, but
also enables such believers, most of whom are gentiles, to become the genuine descendants of Abraham and consequently
to inherit the promises stored up for those of such status. The
latter is a theme to which Paul will famously return in Romans
9–11. The link between faith in Christ’s sacrifice and reconfigured Abrahamic descent and inheritance is hardly transparent,
however. Hebrews, I will argue, clarifies and enhances this link
through its identification of Christ as a self-sacrificing High
Priest after the order of Melchizedek. On the one hand, this
identification underscores the novelty of Christ’s sacrifice and
its ability to mediate a new covenant and a new (and superior)
mode of atonement; on the other hand, it provides the prototype
for the reconfiguration of descent experienced by believers, for
just as Christ reckons his priestly status through an alternative
to the old covenant and the fleshly descent of the Levites, so the
people he serves in the new covenant reckons its descent from
Abraham, and its pursuant claim to the promises, in non-fleshly
terms. Hebrews, then, advances Paul’s assertion that the genuine „descendants of Abraham” (Heb 2:16) and the „heirs of the
promise” (Heb 6.17) are those who have hope in Christ’s unique
and unprecedented sacrifice, not those whose descent is reckoned through flesh and the Law.
22-218a Carl Mosser, Eastern University
Halakhic Controversy and Hebrews 13
New Testament scholars have found the study of first-century
Jewish halakha beneficial for understanding the canonical gospels and the letters of Paul. Hebrews has not received similar
treatment. However, the author of Hebrews warns his readers
against diverse teachings related to meats or foods that “have not
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benefited those who walk” (hoi peripatountes) (Heb. 13:9). This
phrase suggests that the teachings in view are halakhic in nature
(halak = walk). Furthermore, 13:11–13 employs the terminology of “camp” and “outside the camp.” In the Qumran scrolls and
early rabbinic literature these same terms are technical halakhic
designations utilized in discussions about purity and sacrifice.
References in the surrounding context to the Levitical “altar”
(13:10), the “sacrifice of praise” (13:15), and “sacrifices pleasing to God” (13:16) strongly suggest that Hebrews 13 is likewise
concerned with halakha. This paper shows how first-century halakhic disputes shed light on two important aspects of Hebrews
13:9–16. First, the sacrificial language in the passage appears to
reference the activity of the Jerusalem cult and halakhic innovations regarding the shared sacrifices eaten by worshipers. The
author addresses his readers’ concerns by redefining the most
prominent of the shared sacrifices, the thank offering, commonly
identified as the “sacrifice of praise” in Greek Jewish texts. Second, first-century halakhic controversy about the precise scope
of “camp” and “outside the camp” helps us to firmly identify the
referents of these terms in Hebrews and rules out many of the
explanations commentators have offered. The “camp” is Jerusalem; “outside the camp” is outside Jerusalem. These two insights
testify to the value of paying closer attention to the Jewish context of Hebrews than has been common in recent decades. If
sound, they also have significant implications for the social setting and location of the recipients.
22-218a Marius Heemstra, University of Groningen
Epistle to the Hebrews: Jewish Christians and the Fiscus Judaicus
The Epistle to the Hebrews has often been called enigmatic and
has caused a lot of debate among scholars. In this paper I will
try and answer some of the most important questions that have
not been fully answered until now: (1) when was this document
written, (2) to whom was it addressed (who were the ‘Hebrews’),
(3) how could the information about past and possible future
persecutions in Hebrews be interpreted and (4) why had some
people recently given up the habit of attending the community
meetings? The combination of these answers should also present a consistent explanation for this document in the context
of early Christianity. It will be argued that this document was
written to Jewish Christians (indeed ‘Hebrews’), some of whom
had been persecuted under Domitian as tax-evaders of the Jewish tax. For this purpose accused persons had been exposed in
public for the inspection of their genitals to find out whether
they were circumcised. Conviction would lead to the confiscation of their property. Both elements, the confiscations and the
public examination of genitals (theatrizomenoi!), can be found
in Hebrews 10.32–34 and in Suetonius, Domit. 12.1–2, as will be
made clear. Furthermore a date will be suggested as well: the year
96, after Nerva’s reform of the Fiscus Judaicus. Nerva probably
introduced the notion that the Jewish tax only needed to be paid
by Jews who followed their ancestral customs. Jewish Christians
(who under Domitian had been prosecuted as Jews for ‘dissimulata origine imposita genti tributa non pependissent’) were thus
formally exempted from the tax and this exemption had one
huge consequence: it formally led to the loss of their legal status
as Jews under Roman law. This could have led to Jewish Christians returning to the synagogue, which the author of Hebrews
wants to prevent.
22-219 Dennis W. Jowers, Faith Evangelical Seminary
The Key of Knowledge (Luke 11:52) in Latin Patristic and Medieval Exegesis
In Luke 11:52, Jesus says: “Woe to you lawyers! For you have
taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves,
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and you hindered those who were entering.” In our paper, we
survey the views of ancient and medieval Latin exegetes as to the
meaning of this key of knowledge. One may divide pre-modern
Western conceptions of the key of knowledge into two broad
categories: those that relate this key to the keys promised to Peter in Matt 16:19 and those that do not. In patristic and early
medieval times, Latin exegetes failed, on the whole, to discuss
the key of knowledge’s relation to the keys promised to Peter.
Two trajectories of interpretation predominated in this period:
a) the view that the key consists in the knowledge that leads to
salvation; and b) the view that the key constitutes the means of
attaining this knowledge. Radically different perspectives on the
key of knowledge emerged in the high and late Middle Ages. In
this period, almost all Western construals of the key of knowledge related it explicitly to the keys promised to Peter. Until the
early fourteenth century, nevertheless, scholastic theologians, in
the main, identified the “key of knowledge” not with an exclusive prerogative of Peter, but with the authority, bestowed on all
priests, to interrogate penitents. The conflict between John XXII
and the Franciscans in the early fourteenth century, however,
led certain theologians to identify the key of knowledge as not
only an authority granted to all priests, but also as a charism of
doctrinal infallibility bestowed exclusively on the Pope. By the
Reformation, this expanded view of the key became standard.
The interpretations surveyed here, we argue, are not arbitrary,
but reflect a quasi-midrashic exegetical methodology that renders Luke 11:52 relevant to diverse theological and pastoral
contexts.
22-219 Gavril Andreicut, Marquette University
Augustine’s Contextual and Unique Interpretation of Luke 14:23
“The Lord himself orders that guests first be invited to his great
banquet and afterwards forced. For, when his servants answered
him, ‘Lord, we have done what you ordered, and there is still
room,’ he said, ‘Go out into the roads and pathways and force
whomever you find to come in’ (Lk 14:16,21,13).” Augustine is
the first to use “compel them to come in” to support the use of
force in matters of religion, that is, against the schismatic Donatists, which had to be brought to the unity of the Church. Since
the history of Christianity was a history of struggles and continuous renewal, Augustine’s theory on the use of force tempted
the later Church to use it aginst dissenting and heretical groups.
This attitude omitted the fact that Augustine’s statements regarding the use of force were not dogmatic propositions, but
circumstantial ones. Attention should be directed to the context
that caused Augustine to support coercion. This paper deals with
the history of interpretation of the above-mentioned passage of
Luke. Particularly, the paper shows how the passage was interpreted by the early Christian Fathers until Augustine, the unique
interpretation of Augustine, as well as the context which provoked Augustine to use it as an argument for the use of military
force against the Donatists. We would also argue that it is one
of the most important arguments which Augustine used to heal
the schism in North Africa, but in no way the most important
one. All in all, the paper shows that Augustine’s interpretation
of Luke’s passage is indeed unique among the early Church Fathers.
22-219 Kelly Whitcomb, Vanderbilt University
Law and Spirit, Law and Grace: A Rhetorical and Socio-Historical Comparison of Sarah and Hagar in Galatians 4:21–5:1 and
Ilarion’s Sermon “On Law and Grace”
This study seeks to examine Paul’s and Ilarion’s narration and
appropriation of the story of Hagar and Ishmael being driven
away by Sarah. An examination of the narrative and rhetoric
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reveals both similar and different purposes in the letter to the
Galatians and the Slavic sermon. While both Paul and Ilarion
seek to incorporate previously excluded peoples from God’s plan
of salvation, the literary genres of letter and sermon, as well as
the theologies and socio-historical contexts of the authors lead
to different interpretations and appropriations of the story. Ilarion tells the story through the lens of Galatians, adopting the
theology that Isaac points to the incorporation of new peoples
into God’s plan. Yet, the tension between Kiev and Byzantium
and the impetus of the newly instituted Byzantine Christianity
in the Slavic state of Rus’ bring about nuances of understanding
in “Law and Grace” that are absent in Galatians. Working with
the assumption that socio-historical context affects interpretation, this study will draw out the differences in interpretation,
especially as they relate to the situation in Kiev in the eleventh
century.
22-219 Shannon M. McAlister, Catholic University of
America
A Father Who Conceives and Gives Birth: Trinitarian Interpretations of Proverbs 8:24–25, Psalms 109:3, Isaiah 66:9, and Genesis
49:25
Patristic and medieval Christian commentators attributed the
female activities of conception and birth to God “the Father,”
based upon a Christological appropriation of Jewish scriptures.
Interpreting references to maternal generation as allusions to the
generative activity of God the Father, these theologians held that
God eternally “conceives” and “gives birth,” “from the womb,” to
his divine Word (Jesus Christ). In the Latin West, the passages
which underwent this kind of reception included Proverbs 8:24–
25, Psalm 109:3, Isaiah 66:9, and Genesis 49:25. In the middle
ages, some of these passages entered a discussion about whether
it is fitting to call God “Mother”: if God conceives and gives
birth, why is God not also called “Mother”? Yet despite speaking
of God in terms denoting female generation, Anselm, Bonaventure, and Aquinas all preferred “Father” to “Mother,” defining
motherhood in terms of passivity, materiality, or secondary causality. Despite its relevance for modern debates on God-talk, this
history of biblical interpretation has been somewhat neglected.
In History and the Triune God, Jürgen Moltmann mentions that
the Council of Toledo speaks in 675 A.D. of the generation of
the Son “from the womb of the Father,” but he does not note the
patristic interpretation of Psalm 109:3 which precedes Toledo,
speculating instead that this notion comes from the Hebrew
concept of God’s mercy, rchm. In God for Us, Toledo’s phraseology catches the attention of Catherine Mowrey LaCugna, but
she sees it as an example of councils’ “inventive metaphors”
instead of attending to the history of scriptural interpretation
behind it. In She Who Is, Elizabeth A. Johnson cites a text where
Thomas Aquinas attributes the maternal activities of conception
and birth to God the Father; but she does not investigate the patristic and medieval exegesis behind his comments. This paper
seeks to fill these lacunae.
22-221 Izak Cornelius, University of Stellenbosch and
Ruhr University Bochum
The Goddesses of Zinjirli (Sam’Al)
We are well-informed about the religion of the Armaean kingdom of Sam’al: the deities who were worshipped and the cult
of the dead (cf. Niehr). The monuments of the kings of Sam’al
mention gods such as Hadad, El, Resheph, Shamash and of
course Rakib-El. The gods are also represented physically: the
statue of the god Hadad and the enigmatic divine symbols.
What about the goddesses, esp. in the light of the importance
of, and current interest in, the female deities in the Levant? The
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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royal inscriptions do not mention any female deity and to find
evidence of them we have to search elsewhere. Sources which
will be discussed are: • The badly preserved stela from Ördek
Burnu, which might contain the name of the goddess Kubaba;
• Reliefs from the Outer Citadel gate depicting a woman with
a mirror (identified as Kubaba); • A naked woman holding her
breasts on the bridle-gear decoration on a stone statue of a horse
(Astarte?); • Metal objects from Andrae’s “Kleinfunde” which
depict a woman holding lions and standing on lions, and pendants depicting a naked woman holding plants and a woman on
a lion (identified with Ishtar). This material will be described,
analysed, compared with other material from the Ancient Near
East and interpreted in order to answer questions about whether
goddesses were worshipped in Sam’al, and what their names and
their functions were.
22-221 Martin Klingbeil, University of Stellenbosch
“Children I have raised and brought up” (Isaiah 1:2): Female
Metaphors of God in Isaiah and ANE Images of Syro-Palestinian
Goddesses
Female metaphors of God in the Old Testament do not necessarily conform to conventional gender roles associated with divine
imagery in ancient Israel. On the other hand, ANE iconography
presents a broad spectrum of images of goddesses (e.g., Cornelius 2004). Metaphors of God in the book of Isaiah usually center
on male-oriented images such as warrior, king, shepherd, master,
etc. (e.g., Brettler 1998). The paper provides a survey of female
metaphors of God in Isaiah which then opens up the avenue for
a comparison of the texts with ANE iconographic depictions of
female deities predominantly from the Syro-Palestinian region.
This comparison is based on the assumption that literary images
are related to and interact with literal images on various levels
(cf. my paper on the semantics of iconography presented during
the 2008 SBL Iconography and Hebrew Bible consultation).
22-222 Regine Hunziker-Rodewald, University of Strasbourg, France
Celebrating the Full Moon: Northwest Semitic Terminology for
Concepts of Time
Regarding the counting of the days and the naming of the
months, the lexical evidence of the Ugaritic texts (notably the
ritual instructions and the economic texts) shows a distinct
orientation towards the moon. The beginning of the month is
determined by the appearance of the sickle of the new moon after sunset, the full moon constituting the cultic summit between
two new moon phases. The days of the month are structured
by their starting point after the previous sunset. In contrast to
this moon-centered pattern, the Hebrew texts exhibit a linguistic
structure of time that is predominantly aligned toward the sun,
representing the point of reference for the day’s outset at sunrise.
Nevertheless, the juxtaposition within the Old Testament texts
of soli-lunar (šmš-yr?) and lunar (?dš) (concepts of time raises
questions of heritage and influence, and of their deposits in language. The paper will include a brief look at the Aramaic and
Phoenician terminology of time, as well as the solar and lunar
aspects of the iconographical evidence from Israel/Palestine.
22-222 Steven Shaw, Whitley College, University of Melbourne
Verbal Valence in the Early Syriac Translations of the New Testament with Special Attention to the Peshitta Version
The meaning of a verb in a sentence is often determined by the
combination of words that accompany it. In classical Syriac linguistics and lexicography, however, the science and practice of
verbal valence remains a largely unexplored area.
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Syriac verbs can combine with prepositional phrases and with
unmarked noun phrases. The former is the focus of this paper.
Frequently, a particular verb co-occurs in a particular corpus
with two or more different kinds of prepositional phrases. These
phrases can influence the meaning of a verb and result in that
verb having more than one meaning. The co-occurrence of
prepositions with verbs is therefore a highly significant factor in
helping the lexicographer determine the meaning or meanings
of a verb in the contexts in which it occurs. The preposition can,
for example, nuance the meaning of a verb or even focus the
meaning of a polysemous verb. As Janet Dyk has shown, this
aspect of valence has never been adequately taken into account
by verbal entries in even the most comprehensive classical Syriac lexica. This paper discusses the need for verbal valence to be
applied systematically to the lexicalizing of Syriac corpora. The
corpus in view is the early Syriac versions of the New Testament,
especially the Peshitta version. The paper also demonstrates the
need for a methodology to aid the lexicographer in the task of
properly and fully determining the meaning of verbs that co-occur with prepositions.
22-222 Michael Sokoloff, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan,
Israel
Lexical Archaeology: The Case of Brockelmann’s Lexicon Syriacum
Unfortunately, lexicographers very rarely explain to their readers what methodology they employed in achieving their goals,
leaving this to be analyzed by later scholars. In the wake translation into English and its rechecking by the present speaker,
the following methodological principles can be discerned: 1.
The references and citations were collected in nearly all cases
by the author himself and were not gleaned from the works of
his predecessors. 2. For a few books with detailed indices (e.g.
Moberg’s edition of Barhebraeus’ grammar), the citations were
taken directly from them. 3. The material from the first edition
(1895) was included in the second edition but was not rechecked
for errors. 4. The many English glosses in the first edition were
deleted in the second edition and were replaced by a small number of German ones. 5. While the publication date is given as
1928, the dictionary was actually prepared years earlier and published in fascicles. As a result, there are nearly no references to
works published after 1912. 6. New references from the many
re-editions of Syriac texts published after the first edition of the
dictionary are cited from the older ones without any updating
of the references. In spite of the inevitable defects of a work of
this scope accomplished by a single scholar, this dictionary in its
updated and enlarged English rendition should remain for the
foreseeable future the most valuable tool for Syriac lexicography
until it is replaced by a modern one prepared by a committee of
scholars.
22-222 Reinier de Blois, United Bible Societies
The Semantic Structure of Biblical Hebrew
Throughout the ages lexicographers working on Biblical Hebrew—and other languages of the Bible that are no longer spoken
in the same form today—have been struggling to determine the
meaning of words. This always has been especially difficult in
the case of the so-called hapax legomena and other words with
a limited distribution in the available texts. Many lexica of Biblical Hebrew strongly rely on data from related languages in their
efforts to establish the meaning of lexical items. This type of information, however, is not always very dependable. This paper
investigates how a thorough semantic analysis of Biblical Hebrew
from a cognitive linguistic perspective can help to reconstruct a
kind of “semantic grid” for this language, and how this grid pro-
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vides the lexicographer with more certainty in his/her efforts to
determine the meaning of “difficult” words. The advantages of
this method will be illustrated with a number of Hebrew words
with an uncertain meaning.
22-223a James F. McGrath, Butler University
On Hearing (Rather Than Reading) Intertextual Echoes: Methodological Considerations Related to Aurality, Orality, and Intertextuality
While recent studies of the New Testament have found the
methods of intertextuality and orality studies to be fruitful approaches, there has been insufficient interplay between the two
methodologies. This paper will explore the capacity of hearers
of texts to pick up on echoes of familiar texts, stories, and songs.
Even using concrete examples, it may prove impossible to quantify the number of key words sufficient to trigger memory of a
familiar text/story, although it is possible to illustrate how the
number might decrease in the case of unusual or archaic vocabulary. The paper will further discuss the relevance of the study
of human aural capacity and memory, as well as the primarily
oral context in which early Christian texts were read and heard,
for proposals about intertextual echoes and their relevance to
the meaning of the texts in question. How differences of genre
may affect recognition and perception of echoes will also be
addressed, inasmuch as there has been a tendency to draw conclusions about orality and New Testament Gospels and letters
based on the study of folksongs and epic poetry.
22-223a Jill Hicks-Keeton, Duke University
Remember and Believe: Psalm 69:9 in the Johannine Temple
Logion
The ambiguity of the Johannine temple logion’s intertextual link
to Psalm 69:9 (in Jn 2:17) has led biblical scholars (most notably,
Maarten J. J. Menken) to posit that this psalm quotation is a proleptic reference to Jesus’ impending death. Yet, I contend, this
reading overlooks the overall method of scripture interpretation
that the gospel itself promotes and, more importantly, teaches
its reader to practice: post-resurrectional remembering. By employing insights from narrative and reader-response criticism,
this paper offers a reading of John 2:13–23 that takes seriously
how the pericope “works” upon the reader to achieve its rhetorical goals. I first identify (what I call) the pericope’s narrative
pattern—the complex of rhetorical moves it exercises upon the
implied reader. I argue that, through a well-crafted “gap of indeterminacy,” the narrative pattern of John 2:13–23 compels the
reader to supply an interpretation of the relationship between
Jesus’ action in the temple and the disciples’ remembered quotation from Psalm 69. By reading as the implied reader, we may
discover how the text directs its own interpretation. I will then
show that when read with the interpretive method and hermeneutical lens with which the pericope equips its reader, the psalm
quotation is not principally a reference to Jesus’ death, but is a
foreshadowing of Jesus’ triumphant resurrection as the rebuilt
temple. Such a conclusion has important implications for the Johannine theology of resurrection as well as for the intertextual
use of the psalms (and Ps 69 in particular) in John. Finally, this
paper demonstrates the interpretive benefits of taking seriously
the gospel’s own rhetorical goal as stated in 20:31—to persuade
its reader toward belief.
22-223a Kenneth D. Litwak, Azusa Pacific University
Text, Pretext, Proof Text, Context: Should We Consider the Original Contexts of Intertexts?
There is ongoing discussion about the use of intertexts from the
Scriptures of Israel in New Testament writers, with some asserting that we should see these intertexts as “proof texts” stripped
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out of their context. Their context has no relevance for the New
Testament authors. This papers argues that we ought to take
context into consideration, for that is how readers and hearers generally operate when they process a text. Consideration
is given to the theories of Eco and others for how intertextuality works. This is followed by a demonstration from texts in
Luke-Acts of the hermeneutical value of considering the original
contexts of intertexts. The paper argues that we “under-read” a
New Testament author if we fail to consider the original context.
Passages from Luke 2 and Acts 8 are used as test cases to show
the importance of considering context in understanding the
function of an intertext in a New Testament text. When Simeon
refers in Luke 2:30 to seeing God’s salvation, Luke clearly has in
mind the Isaianic context of this intertextual echo. When Isaiah
53 is cited in Acts 8, an understanding of the wider context of
the citation is vital for understanding why Luke has this intertext
here. Failing to attend to the context of these intertexts could
lead to a failure to understand Luke’s narrative. The same likely
applies to other New Testament authors.
22-224 Tom Thatcher, Cincinnati Christian University
The Riddle of the Baptist and the Genesis of the Prologue: John
1:1–18 in Its Oral/Aural Media Context
How might a greater sensitivity to ancient media culture impact
understandings of the composition-history of the Fourth Gospel’s Prologue? Analysis of this passage has generally assumed
that John 1:1–18 includes portions of an ancient “hymn” that
would have been familiar to John’s first audiences from their
liturgical experience. This conclusion is based both on the content of the unit and, more particularly, on its style and structure.
But while source-critical approaches have produced interesting
readings, they proceed from an essential misconception of the
media dynamics of early Christian culture and, further, of the
actual compositional dynamics of the passage itself. John 1:1–18
should not be understood as the reworking of a hymn, but rather
as an original composition and as the Evangelist’s poetic expansion of a traditional saying associated with John the Baptist. To
defend this thesis, I will first briefly review source-critical research on John 1:1–18, focusing on approaches that view the
Prologue as a primitive hymn that has been absorbed into the
current text. I will then place these approaches in dialogue with
Werner Kelber’s research on the problem of the “original form”
of an oral text, which would suggest that any attempt to isolate
and reconstruct a primitive precursor to this passage is misguided. I will proceed to argue that the Prologue evidences a high
level of compositional unity, and that this unity is a product of
the fact that the Prologue was composed through the expansion
of a traditional oral unit which may now be found on the lips of
the Baptist at John 1:15. By all appearances, John 1:1–18 seems
to have been orally composed as an organic element of the larger
narrative that it introduces, and 1:15 should be regarded as the
compositional genesis of the Prologue rather than as an interpolation.
22-224 Gitte Buch-Hansen, University of Copenhagen
Johannine Emotions: A Challenge to a Philosophical Perspective
on John?
The FG has been described as both the most philosophical and
the most emotional among the canonical gospels. From the perspective of Hellenistic philosophy, Platonic or Stoic, this appears
a contradiction of terms. As the hour approaches, Jesus succumbs
several times to emotional upheaval, and the prospect of death
causes him to feel anger and fear. Similarly, among the disciples.
The gospel singles out Peter who, in spite of his sincere wish to
follow Jesus, ends up paralyzed in the high-priest’s courtyard nei-
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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ther fleeing nor following. The FG thus appears to be guided by
a worldview foreign to Hellenism. However, although apatheia
remained the goal in ethical thinking, Hellenistic philosophers
developed a growing interest in progressing persons, who were
neither wise nor evil, and whose actions were neither good nor
bad. For these people, moral growth was usually followed by
‘progressor-pains’, i.e. emotions derived from the awareness of
past or present evils. As ‘true’ and ‘appropriate’ these emotions
weren’t to be characterized as passions, but also not as the eupatheiai of wise persons. The tears of Alcibiades in Socrates’ lap
became paradigmatic in discussions of how teachers should handle their students’ emotions: should these emotions be curbed or
enhanced? A balance between consolation and frank speech was
recommended. Philo, who had to come to terms with Moses’
tears and the Israelites’ remorse, used this tradition to promote
remorse to the status of the fourth Stoic eupatheia (the missing counterpart to lypê). Taking Peter’s case as a starting point,
the paper examines the Farewell Speeches and their promise of
another Paraclete in the light of the philosophical discourse of
intermediary emotions and progressor-pains. Attention is given
to the parable about the woman in birth-pangs. The conclusion
is that neither Jesus’ emotions nor those of his disciples make
John any less philosophical.
22-224 Alicia Myers, Baylor University
Prosopopoetics and Conflict: Speech and Expectations in John 8
This paper explores the conflict of John 8 within the larger
context of the Gospel and in the light of the ancient rhetorical
practice of prosopopoeia, or speech-in-character. Prosopopoeia
is the creation of speech for characters within a narrative. These
speeches were intended to add to the credibility and persuasiveness of the narrative by being “appropriate” for both the person
speaking (i.e. conforming to their origins, age, gender, and status) and the situation in which the speech is given (cf. Theon,
Prog. 115–118). Although perhaps not prosopopoeia in the
traditional sense of lengthy speeches from Greek histories, this
paper argues that the Johannine evangelist nevertheless makes
use of prosopopoetics by creating appropriate, albeit unnerving,
words for Jesus that elevate the audience’s position and add the
persuasiveness of his work. In John 8, Jesus builds on conflicts
begun in John 7 by shocking his interlocutors with seemingly
audacious claims about his identity. According to the perspective
of the Jews, Jesus’ words are thoroughly inappropriate because
they see Jesus as a man from Galilee who is “not yet fifty years
old.” What seems inappropriate to the Jews of John 8, however,
is entirely appropriate for the audience of John’s Gospel who has
the advantage of the Prologue and narrative asides that provide
a more complete characterization of Jesus. Indeed, Jesus’ speech
conforms to the origins laid out in the Prologue and has the effect of placing the audience in a privileged position. As such, the
audience becomes insiders who understand more about Jesus
than those who saw Jesus for themselves. The shock experienced
by the Jews in 8:31–59, along with other conflicts that ultimately
lead to Jesus’ death, fuels the author’s grander purpose: namely,
that of convincing the audience rather than the characters within the narrative.
22-224 Mark A. Matson, Milligan College
John’s Rhetorical Use of Narrative Time
In Paul Ricoeur’s work Time and Narrative, he considers the
poetic act of emplotment as involving at once three aspects of
mimesis: M1 is that aspect which reflects reality, M2 is the truly
creative aspect of imitation which “re-presents” reality within a
poetic form, and M3 involves the rhetorical or persuasive turn
in the muthos (or plot) of a narrative work. In this construc-
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tion, Ricoeur considers M2 to be critical because it mediates
between the stark imitation of reality (M1), and the intentional
effort of the rhetorical purpose (M3). The creative nature of the
plotting devices, including aspects of narrative time, can thus
be understood as functioning in this mediating role. Narrative
time, including duration and point of view or perspective, is an
essential feature by which an author represents (or re-presents)
a view of the world. The interplay of these elements of mimesis
is striking in the Gospel of John. Perhaps no other gospel is as
apparent in its rhetorical use of narrative time, both in terms of
constructing events and in the use of varied “points of view” of
narrative time. The construction of the narrative time around
festival seasons, of iterative “signs,” the slow advancement of
time in the discourses, and especially the periodic critical observations by the narrator that are clearly from a post-resurrection
perspective, all indicate a manifest rhetorical objective (“that
you may believe”). At the level of the unfolding drama of the
plot, the Fourth Evangelist has often been seen as highly creative. And indeed John’s developing plot, in which the increasing
conflict between his self-revelation and the opposition of “the
Jews” at once supports the rhetorical purpose of the gospel, and
yet also presents a reality which is compelling. In this paper I explore, under the influence of Ricoeur and Gerard Gennette, how
the 4th Gospel uses narrative time to both create a pleasing and
realistic muthos and to support the rhetorical purpose of the
gospel. In the process I also find support for a relatively unified
and holistic view of the narrative work of the evangelist—that is,
that the overall use of narrative time suggests a consistent poetic
effort.
22-224 Ralph Korner, McMaster University
The Gospel of John’s Jesus: The Way into a Place, into a People, or
to a Person?
The New Testament understanding of people as sacred space
challenges an exclusivist soteriology that finds its basis in John
14:6 (“I am the way, the truth and the life”). Specifically, by recasting “the father’s house” (John 14:2) as the “Temple/New
Jerusalem/people of God,” rather than as “heaven” the focus of
interpretation moves away from Jesus as “the way” for one to enter a place (“heaven”) towards Jesus as “the way” for one to enter
a people (“the Church”). Additionally, then, the emphasis of Jesus’ statement in John 14:6b (“no one comes to the Father except
through me”) shifts away from claiming a mediatory role for his
disciples’ access to the place where the Father resides (“heaven”)
towards an assertion of his unique role in mediating the disciples
direct access to the Father during their earthly lifetime for the
purposes of ministry effectiveness (John 14:7–13) and personal
intimacy (John 14:20–23). This “realized eschatological” reinterpretation assumes a familiarity by the Gospel writer(s) with the
symbolic continuity between the Temple and the Church that is
suggested in pauline (1 Cor 3:16) and deutero-pauline writings
(Eph 2:19–22), as well as in the Apocalypse. In the Apocalypse,
however, this Temple imagery appears to be taken even a step
further. Therein, the sacred city (New Jerusalem) is transformed
into a sacred building (Temple; Spatafora [1997]), which is also a
sacred people (Church universal; Gundry [1987]). Some earlier
Jewish Second Temple texts also cast the people of God as sacred
space (e.g., people as Temple [1 QS 8.5–6; 4Q174 3.1–7], people
as the foundations of the New Jerusalem [4QpIsd (4Q164)]).
The foregoing suggests the plausibility of viewing GJohn’s Jesus
as “the way” through which one enters a People who are in intimate relationship with a Person, rather than as simply “the way”
to an eternal resting place.
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22-225 Ed Noort, University of Groningen
Joshua Revisited: New directions and old cruces in the study of
the Book of Joshua during the last 15 years
The paper will take up where the book Das Buch Josua Forschungsgeschichte und problemfelder left off to situate for the
group the progress being made in Joshua studies and the major
issues the group needs to investigate.
22-225 Robert D. Miller, Catholic University of America
History of Research on the Book of Judges
This paper will isolate the major contributors to the study of the
Book of Judges in the last century, define the contributions those
scholars made, show the lasting results of those contributions,
and isolate the central questions that need further study by the
Joshua-Judges consultation.
22-225 Christoph Levin, University of Munich
The book of Judges within the Deuteronomistic History
In present research doubts increase whether the Book of Judges
has been part of the Deuteronomistic History from the start.
Exegetes attempt to make evident that the original form of the
Deuteronomistic History contained the Books of Samuel and
Kings only. If this be true the Book of Judges would have come
inbetween only later, forming the secondary narrative link between the Hexateuch and the Deuteronomistic History resp.
between the era of the conquest and the monarchy. The paper
shall present a close reading of the editorial framework and
show that the Book of Judges is closely linked with the Book
of Joshua on the one hand and with the Book of Samuel on the
other, thus forming an indispensable section in the course of the
Deuteronomistic History.
22-225 Lawson Stone, Asbury Theological Seminary
From Real to Reel: Cultural Conflict in History and Tradition in
the Formation of Joshua-Judges
The emergence of Israel in the Late-Bronze/Iron I transition coincided with seismic shifts in the social, political, and military
realities of the region. The imperialism, urbanism, and internationalism of the Late Bronze Age yielded to regional, rural, and
local developments, with settlement shifts and diverse new ethnic
and political formations brewing throughout Iron I. The resultant cultural collisions, often violent, left a strong imprint on the
traditions lodged ultimately in the books of Joshua, Judges, and
Samuel. This paper argues that the tradition development and
final literary form of the books of Joshua and Judges entail an
analysis and interpretation of these tumultuous cultural changes
in the light of Israel¹s distinctive claims about its own ethnicity
and its relationship with Yahweh.
22-225 Trent C. Butler, Chalice Press
An Agenda for the Future of Joshua-Judges Studies
This paper will conclude the inaugural meeting of the Consultation on Joshua-Judges and summarize the concerns raised
therein. The paper will consider various features of the history,
methodology, and presuppositions of the study of the books of
Joshua-Judges, but its main focus will be to articulate the agenda
for the Joshua-Judges Consulation for the near future.
22-226 Jens Bruun Kofoed, Copenhagen Lutheran School
of Theology
Cultural Memory and Ancient Israelite Historiography
In recent years, the concept of social or cultural memory has
become a significant subject in biblical studies, and biblical
scholars like Joseph Blenkinsopp, Marc Brettler, Ronald Hendel, Mark Smith and, most recently, Philip Davies have shown
that the Hebrew Bible contains both the collective memory and
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amnesia of ancient Israel. This paper challenges a too simplistic
equation of cultural memory with fictitious or invented history
and discusses the theoretical and methodological challenges of
the modern concept of cultural memory in relation to ancient
Israelite historiography. The sociological analysis of the Biblical text’s lieux de mémoire cannot be isolated from the heuristic
and epistemological discussion on whether the text refers to a
reality outside itself or must be understood as a fictitious, nonreferential attempt to express and reshape a certain interpretive
community’s collective understanding of the past. A proper understanding of the intersection between cultural memory and
historiography in the Biblical text can only be achieved, it is argued, when the concepts of truth and history responsible for the
literary configuration of memory, history, ideology etc. in the
Biblical text are taken into consideration.
22-226 Catrin H. Williams, University of Bangor, Wales
Abraham as a Figure of Memory in John 8:31–59
Attempts at determining the relationship between the three main
parts of John 8:31–59 have produced widely divergent scholarly
assessments of its presentation of Abraham and, in particular, of
the extent to which the text establishes continuity or contrast between the patriarch and Jesus. The aim of this paper is to identify
a series of communicative strategies in John 8:31–59 that shed
light on its depiction of Abraham and on the intended impact of
that portrayal on the text’s original audience, particularly with
regard to the shaping of their self-understanding as a group. One
of the key strategies for group demarcation identifiable within
the passage is the way in which it draws upon a rich reservoir
of traditions about Abraham in order to establish a distinctively
Johannine collective memory of the patriarch. For this purpose,
the role of memory in John 8:31–59 will be investigated in the
light of recent social and cultural memory theories, focusing on
how the text contests, appeals to, and reconfigures memories
of Abraham in the light of the Johannine belief in Jesus as the
heavenly revealer of God. The paper will examine the ways in
which the presentation of Abraham in John 8:31–59 operates according to what memory theorists identify as memory’s selective
and fluid processes in the reconstruction of the past. It will be
argued, moreover, that recent work by memory theorists on the
relationship between group identity formation and the memory
of ‘origins’, or ‘beginnings’, can shed light on the extent to which
the mnemonic reconfiguration of Abraham in John’s Gospel
is shaped by its redefinition of origins, paternity and kinship.
The paper will also seek to identify orally conditioned devices
in the text that are designed to secure communal engagement
with Abrahamic memories within an oral/aural performative
context.
22-226 Benjamin White, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Lincoln, Social Memories and the Pauline Tradition into the
Second Century: or “On How Paul became ‘Paul’“
The data for reconstructing the Apostle Paul’s legacy in early
Christianity have been stitched together to form various narratives, ranging from a Pauline “captivity” to Marcion and other
“heretics” (thus the silence of Justin, Hegesippus, and Papias)
to a fully-engaged Pauline “school” that was responsible for
updating Pauline traditions for the post-Pauline period. Major
studies by Andreas Lindemann, Ernst Dassmann, and David
Rensberger, each about three decades old now, helped to demonstrate the variety of engagements with Paul from the late first
into the second century. In light of these studies, a broad consensus seems to have emerged that views Pauline influence in
the form of fragmented trajectories. A sufficient explanatory
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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model for how this fragmentation occurred is still lacking. This
paper will argue that Barry Schwartz’s work on the developing
images of Lincoln amongst various (often competing) social and
political groups in the early twentieth century provides a fruitful model for understanding how Paul moved from a person to
variety of personas. The dramatic social shift in the church due
to Paul’s ministry and tragic death meant that he, like Lincoln
in American cultural memory, would be guaranteed a place of
commemorative importance for later generations of Christians.
And like Lincoln, the apparent complexity of Paul’s own views
meant that he could be idealized by a variety of “reputational
engineers,” to use the language of Schwartz and others. These
Pauline charismas were being woven in the fabric of communal
memories even before Pauline texts were widely available. Texts,
only subsequently, became contested sites for preserving various fragmented images of Paul. The end of Book 4 of Irenaeus’
Adversus Haereses, where correctly interpreting Pauline texts
evidently sustains a proto-orthodox image of Paul as a “preacher
of the truth,” is one window into this phenomenon.
22-226 Alan Kirk, James Madison University
Cognitive and Cultural Memory Interface, and the Formation of
Tradition
The form critical account of the formation and history of the
gospel tradition, in its various revised versions still dominant
in gospels scholarship, marginalizes the factor of memory; indeed, it regards memory and tradition as incommensurables.
At the other extreme, and contesting the form critical approach,
are models that construe the tradition as a more or less direct
expression of individual eyewitness recollection. Research on
memory shows that both these accounts fail. Tradition is a particular cultural form of symbolic representation that takes shape
at the active interface of the cognitive and cultural operations of
memory. This approach helps explain characteristic features of
the gospel tradition.
22-227 Daniel L. Smith, University of Notre Dame
Exodus Imagery in First-Century Interpretations of Jesus’ Baptism by John
In the New Testament corpus, the “meaning” (or “operative
symbol”) of Christian baptism has been variously described as
washing (Acts 2), sealing (Eph 4:30), and death (Rom 6). We will
argue that New Testament scholarship has largely neglected another operative symbol: Christian baptism as (new) exodus. The
only explicit description of Christian baptism in terms of exodus
is found in 1 Cor 10:2, where Paul likens his audience to the
Israelites who were “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the
sea.” We will show, however, that Matthew (and possibly Mark)
also uses exodus imagery to explain Jesus’ baptism by John. This
application of exodus imagery to the exemplary baptism of Jesus provides further evidence for new exodus as another early
operative symbol of Christian baptism. Moreover, in light of the
many instances of inner-biblical exegesis that connect God’s saving acts involving water to one another (cf. Exodus 2:2–3; Joshua
3:7), we would also suggest that Matthew may be connecting
Christian baptism to this rich tradition of Israelite salvation-history. For Matthew, just as the ancient people of God were saved
by/through water time and again (flood, exodus, conquest, etc.),
so this new representative of God’s people models a new salvation involving water for the people of God.
22-227 Kristian Bendoraitis, Durham University
Angels at the Judgment: the Parables of the Weeds and the Net
The works of Dodd and Jeremias on the parables have traditionally represented the pursuit of determining the meaning of the
parables apart from the influence of the early church. However,
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parables should also be examined for their value within their
narrative context, especially concerning a parable’s own explanation in the text. In light of this, the discrete elements of the
parable, its explanation, and its context should all be explored
for the way they contribute to the communication of the parable within Matthew’s gospel as a whole. Taking two similar
Matthean parables whose accompanying explanations have often been labeled as additions, this study analyzes how Matthew
uses angels’ gathering and collecting activity to help explain the
Parable of the Weeds (Matt 13:24–30, 36–43) and the Parable of
the Net (Matt 13:47–50). Evoking traditional Jewish apocalyptic scenes of judgment and punishment, angels in these parables
help make the coming judgment vivid and compelling. Consequently, in the brief explanations of the two parables, Matthew
draws on apocalyptic tradition to emphasize the power of God’s
judgment and his continued activity. This enables him to portray
God’s ultimate victory while reminding readers that the conviction of God’s future activity does not imply the absence of it in
the present. Rather, the finality and inescapability of the future
judgment remind the reader of the divine mercy which characterizes Jesus’ message of the kingdom.
22-227 Walter T. Wilson, Emory University
Inconspicuous Piety and Communal Differentiation in Matthew
6:1–6, 16–18
The three practices discussed in Matt 6:1–6, 16–18 represented
conventional acts of piety within the author’s dominant cultural
environment. An underlying assumption of the passage is that
the meaning of these practices is not fixed or self-evident, but is
subject to re-interpretation depending on the intentionality that
informs them. In concert with his sectarian outlook, Matthew’s
objective is not for his community to develop new cultic practices but for it to reconceptualize received practices and thereby
invest them with new meaning. Toward this end, the imagery
of the passage invites the readers to envision their practices as
performances, that is, to envision them in terms of the audience
for whom they are intended. The possibilities in this regard are
laid out contrastively. The audience presented negatively corresponds with the dominant cultural frame, “the people” of the
synagogue and the community. The readers are not to put their
practices on display in order to be evaluated and recognized
by this audience in accordance with prevailing norms of social
meaning and status acquisition. Put differently, these practices
are not to be performed as acts of enculturation, as acts that socialize the readers into the dominant culture and its forms of
subjectivity. Instead, the performing self is to withdraw from
socially authorized venues into an alternative “space,” an antithetically constructed referential arena operating according to
a restricted and re-ordered matrix of meaningful relationships.
This does not occur as a physical act, however, but as an act of
the intention. Insofar as they orient their intentionality so as to
eschew the enculturating function of these practices, thereby rejecting prevailing modes of socialization, the readers can now
conceive of these performances as moments in the development
of a resistant self, an alternative subjectivity that is “rehearsed” in
an alternative performance space.
22-227 Judith Stack-Nelson, Princeton Theological Seminary
Whence (if not Whither!) Sin and Evil: Preliminary Explorations
into Matthew’s Understanding of the Causes of Human Sinning
In its depiction of the causes of sin and evil, the Gospel of Matthew seems accurately, though unsystematically, to reflect the
diversity of views of the Second Temple milieu. Unlike many of
the texts of this period such as the Enochic literature, however,
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Matthew seems singularly uninterested in legendary aetiologies
of sin. Nor, seemingly, is Matthew interested in pinning down
sin to the “agency” of either humans or the devil. Rather, in looking at Matthew we see that all his reflection on the cause(s) of
sin and evil is expressed in the form of metaphors. These metaphors fall into four general categories spanning a spectrum from
highly external causes (e.g., the snare or “scandalon”) which the
sinner does not intend in the least, to highly internal and holistic causes (e.g., genetic images such as a tree and its fruit or the
sheep and goats) which indicate a perspective of at least moral
if not ontological dualism. Further, the use of metaphors of diabolical rulership combines the ideas of an external cause with
the very internal aspect of moral dualism. This diversity of images and thus perspectives may, on the one hand, prove frustrating
for one trying to divine a single or even dominant Matthean
understanding of the cause of sin and evil. Yet, this diversity of
metaphors remains consonant with the diversity of perspectives
of Matthew’s milieu and serves to give fuller expression to the
many facets of the experience of sin and evil than might be possible with a more limited pallet of images.
22-227 Karl McDaniel, McGill University
Ironic Metanarrative: Suspense, Curiosity, and Surprise in
Matthew’s Gospel
It has been stated in Matthean literary studies that there is no
room for suspense in Matthew’s plot line. The movement of the
Gospel of Matthew is therefore interpreted as being plainly laid
out in the dream narrative of 1:20–25; as the gospel progresses, the oracle continues being fulfilled, admittedly with some
resistance. However, the narrative is not as straight forward as
typically interpreted. Drawing upon the literary theory of Meir
Sternberg, it will be shown how suspense, curiosity and surprise
are used to maintain the reader’s interest in the Matthean narrative: 1) Suspense—The salvific oracle does not seem to receive
fulfillment in the narrative, in contrast with the reader’s expectation. First, the leaders and elders of the people, then the crowds,
and finally the disciples seem to disqualify themselves from the
kingdom of heaven when their actions and words are compared
with the requirements of Jesus’ discourses. 2) Curiosity—As the
narrative unfolds and the suspense builds, one wonders how the
oracle is to be fulfilled. 3) Surprise—The reader, at the end of the
gospel, is called back to the first salvific oracle in order to reread
it through the ancient lens of irony where “people” is redefined.
Irony in this paper is defined not by modern concepts but by the
way in which the ancient orators Cicero, Pseudo-Dionysius and
others have defined it, notably “as the opposite of what is being said,” leading to an alleviation of the suspense and curiosity.
The plot line of Matthew, interpreted in this way, becomes much
more complex than is commonly assumed.
22-228 Eszter K. Fuzessy, University of Chicago
The Function of the “Outsider” in Rabbinic Literature: The Limits
of Rabbinic Interpretation
Rabbinic literature is a literature for an elite, a literature for “Insiders.” Though the validity of rabbinic “laws” are accepted by all
of its readers, students, and co-authors, they are unspoken. For
the very reason that these “laws” are unspoken it often appears
that they are nonexistent, that in rabbinic literature everything is
allowed. It has often been discussed whether and to what extent
there exist “limits of interpretation” in rabbinic literature. Are
there interpretive methods that Sages are not allowed to use?
Are there opinions that should not be said loudly? Are there
theories, theses that are not approved of? Are there topics that
should not even be discussed? In my paper I would like to address these questions by discussing a group of texts in which
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the protagonists are the Sages, on the one hand, and “Outsiders” (a min, a goy, a philosopher, Hadrian, m/Matrona), on the
other. The “Outsiders” in these texts are recognized and defined
by their not being Sages. The question that arises is: what makes
these persons “Outsiders”? In reading rabbinic texts portraying
dialogues between Sages and “Outsiders” the question we must
ask ourselves is why and how the opinion, theory, topic that is
being represented by the “Outsider” does not fit into the normal
“pattern” of rabbinic discourse. What are the “limits of rabbinic
interpretation” that the “Outsider” did not honor?
22-228 Rachel Adelman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
“Such Stuff as Dreams are made on”: God’s Footstool in the Aramaic Targumim and Midrashic Tradition
In a famous talmudic passage, R. Meir muses on why the color blue was singled out for the thread of tzitzit? “Because blue
resembles the sea, and the sea resembles the sky, and the sky resembles the sapphire stone, which resembles the Throne of Glory,
as it says: ‘And they saw the God of Israel, and under His feet was
the likeness of sapphire brick-work, like the very sky for purity’
(Exod 24:10)” (b. H?ulin 89a). And yet the talmudic discussion
goes on to suggest that this vision that the elders of Israel experienced at the base of Sinai was a breach of boundaries no mortal
man should have survived. This paper will explore the targum
traditions (Onqelos, Neofiti, and Pseudo-Jonathan) on this verse
in Exodus, and the narrative expansions in midrash on this vision of the “Throne of Glory.” It is linked with Ezekiel’s Ma’aseh
Merkabah (vision of the chariot, cf. Ezek 1:26), suggesting an
intersection with early mystical Hekhalot literature. While the
classic Aramaic Targum glosses over the anthropomorphism in
the biblical verse, Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer and Tg. Ps.-Jon relate
the vision back to the brick-work of the oppressive servitude in
Egypt. A surprising parallel to the story is found in the description of the “second heaven” in Greek Apocalypse of Baruch (3
Baruch 3:5). I will argue that there are two exegetical traditions—
an earlier one that elides over, or rather represses the possibility
that there was a vision of “the God of Israel,” and another, later
one, which links the theophany to a redemptive narrative. Does
this transformation, from classic rabbinic literature to late midrash, reflect a shift in stance, one that embraces rather than
rejects earlier mystical (perhaps even Gnostic) traditions?
22-228 Yonatan Sagiv, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Between Leviticus 1 and 6: Taxonomy of Ancient Hermeneutics
The purpose of this lecture is to offer new tools for stratifying
ancient Jewish hermeneutics. The stratification of the commentaries is one of the central cruces in the history of the rabbinic
commentary to the Bible. The problem stems from the fact that
the relation between the early Jewish Biblical commentary (dating to the days of the Second Temple) and the later rabbinic
commentaries is not always clear. On the one hand, occasionally
the continuity between them is apparent; yet there are also cases
where the impression is of a gap between them. This gap emerges
in different subjects and at all stages of the commentary: the hermeneutical assumptions, the hermeneutical problems addressed
in the final hermeneutical product and its presentation. In order to examine the degree of continuity and innovation in the
rabbinic commentary as compared to the earlier commentaries,
I would like to discuss several of the rabbinic interpretation to
Leviticus 1. An examination of the interpretation reveals that
they are based on an implicit assumption, regarding the relation
between Leviticus 1 and 6. An examination of diverse sources
from the Second Temple exposes the fact that they all share the
same assumption. This supposition lies beneath the commen-
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tary in these sources also, and there too it is only implied. To this
supposition, the Sages added another stratum of commentary,
utilizing the earlier commentary and giving it a new meaning.
The conclusions of this source analysis contribute not only to the
effort of stratifying the commentary, but also to uncover different habits of thought. Within the ancient commentary, we may
identify several different ways of thought, diverse and at times
even contradictory. These ways of thought have in the end led
to different hermeneutic products, while maintaining and preserving the accepted hermeneutic traditions, both overtly and
implicitly. The presentation is based on a chapter of my (Hebrew) PhD dissertation at the Hebrew University, under the
supervision of Prof. Shlomoh Naeh, Prof. Menahem Kahana
and Dr. Baruch J. Schwartz. I intend to amend the chapter to the
different nature of a lecture. I would be glad to send along the
relevant chapter, if necessary.
22-228 Jason Mokhtarian, University of California-Los
Angeles
Midrashic Depictions of Persia
In this paper, I would like to explore how midrashic texts portray
the world and people of ancient Persia, as well as the Jews who
lived during the Achaemenid era (Ezra, Nehemiah, etc.). Part
of a larger project, this paper will eventually assist me in comparing these depictions with those in the Babylonian Talmud in
the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the differences
between Palestinian and Babylonian representations of Iranian
Jewish life. My approach to these midrashim will be primarily
literary, though historical considerations and contexts will also
serve useful. I believe that this topic might also fit in well with
the secnod panel on “the culture of memory,” in which I would
be happy to participate.
22-229 Ziony Zevit, American Jewish University
The Sufficiency of Fuzzy Dates for Diachronic Studies of Biblical
and Ancient Hebrew
One consequence of nineteenth century Modernism was awareness that everything has a history; one consequence of the rise
of Structuralism at the end of the nineteenth century and the
beginning of the twentieth was sensitivity to the inner-connectedness of complex systems as well as the inter-connectedness of
seemingly unrelated systems. These two ideas made it possible
for people skilled in languages to evolve research methodologies
and a body of theory capable of producing synchronic studies of
linguistic systems and to translate such studies into histories of
particular languages. Hebrew is a late beneficiary of historical
linguistic research with the result that diachronic aspects of its
development have not been integrated into the training of Biblical Hebraists. Consequently, aside from important advances
in lexicography, biblicists tend not take advantage of what this
research contributes to sub-disciplines as varied as exegesis, history and even biblical theology. In the last fifteen years, much
debate has taken over pertinent issues such as whether or not
a word, a root, lexical meaning, or grammatical feature can be
dated to the pre-exilic (pre-586 BCE), exilic (586–539 BCE), or
post-exilic periods (post-539–332 BCE). Other debates center on
what constitutes proper arguments and evidence for or against
such conclusions, and whether a linguistic profile can be created
to help date texts — undatable through internal reference — to
a particular historical period. This paper, along with others offered in two sessions entitled “Diachrony in Biblical Hebrew,”
will engage these and other issues relevant to linguists, Hebraists, and biblicists. This introductory presentation questions the
adequacy of absolute dates derived from political history used
in many contemporary discussions of Hebrew. It proposes on
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the basis of socio-linguistic considerations and our inadequate
knowledge about and understanding of Israel’s social history
ca. 597–333 BCE that, for many studies, fuzzy dates suffice for
locating changes and innovations in Hebrew along a historical
continuum extending from Iron Age II through the early Hellenistic period.
22-229 B. Elan Dresher, University of Toronto
Methodological Issues in the Dating of Linguistic Forms: Considerations from the Perspective of Contemporary Linguistic Theory
The purpose of this talk is to present some methodological
principles that underpin contemporary work in diachronic linguistics and sociolinguistics (language variation and change),
and see to what extent they can be brought to bear on current
controversies concerning the dating of Biblical Hebrew. While
recognizing that the dating of biblical texts poses unique challenges, one can nevertheless seek to evaluate hypotheses about
the development of Biblical Hebrew in the light of what is
known about language variation and change in general. Current
discussion in Biblical Hebrew studies is concerned with whether
different ‘dialects’ can be discerned within the corpora, and, if
so, whether they reflect contemporaneous dialects (or diglossia,
or stylistic choices from among coexisting synchronic variants)
or diachronic change. While there are no certain ways of determining in any given instance whether variation is synchronic or
diachronic, there are some criteria that can be applied to see how
likely one or another scenario is, and whether certain types of
argument are valid or not.
22-229 Jacobus Naudé, University of the Free State
Diachrony and language change in Biblical Hebrew. The case of
independent personal pronouns.
This paper has two aims: 1) It will discuss best practices concerning objectives, methods, and defining the nature of evidence
in diachronic study. This pertains to what is used as the basis for
comparison—the source and nature of the linguistic elements to
be compared—as well as the role of internal and external factors
in language change such as the role played by the development of
a written standard. 2) It will refine critically the claims of Young,
Rezetko, and Ehrensvärd that data used to distinguish pre-exilic from post-exilic Hebrew are no more than manifestations
of sychronic styles available to exilic and post exilic authors in
light of a theory of language change and diffusion advanced by
the presenter since 2000 that has been updated to accommodate
the newest perspectives from functional and formal approaches
to language change, e.g., Fischer (2007). These will be achieved
through a study of independent personal pronouns from the
corpuses of Hebrew inscriptions, Qumran Hebrew, and Biblical
Hebrew. These pronouns will be utilized as evidence illustrating
diachronic change in Biblical Hebrew.
22-229 Robert D. Holmstedt, University of Toronto
The ‘New Synthesis’ and Biblical Hebrew Word Order
In numerous recent works, Ian Young, Robert Rezetko, and
Martin Ehrensvärd have challenged the traditional ‘three-stage’
model of Biblical Hebrew diachronic development(archaic, early, late Biblical Hebrew.Working together, these authors marshal
a great deal of data in building their case for their’new synthesis’,
that Early Biblical Hebrew and Late Biblical Hebrew relate nonchronologically as two contemporaneous dialects. In the first
half of this paper, I will examine the theoretical assumptions
and methodological moves that Young, Rezetko, and Ehrensvärd make.For instance, these three authors acknowledge the
axiom that language changes, and yet the ‘new synthesis’ gives
the impression that there is no discernible change in the entire
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Biblical Hebrew corpus.Additionally, the data adduced are the
‘usual suspects’ of lexemes,morphological patterns, and simple
syntactic collocations. But whatabout systemic changes, such as
shifts in word order or verbal semantics? In the second half of
this paper, I will take up the 1977 claim of Talmy Givón, that
Biblical Hebrew witnessed a shift from verb-subject to subjectverb basic word order, and consider the implications for Young,
Rezetko, and Ehrensvärd’s non- chronological proposal.
22-231 Thomas J. Kraus, Willibald Gluck Gymnasium
Reconstructing Fragmentary Manuscripts: Chances and Limitations
With the help of some (classic) example cases the methodological challenges will be visualized that result from the task of
reconstructing fragmentary manuscripts. How do we soundly
reconstruct gaps in manuscripts? Which status does the reconstructed text then have? What about deducing more complex
hypotheses from reconstructions? In addition, it makes a difference if a manuscript can be identified with a known text
and reconstructed as such then (e.g., P.Ryl.Greek 457=P52)
or if the reconstruction of an unknown text is based on probabilities, possibilities, and tentative exercise (which is the case
with manuscript fragments that are discussed as the remnants
of lost and unknown Gospels, such as P.Mert. II 51, P.Vindob.
G 2325, and P.Oxy. IV 654 and the fragment of a shroud); and
even the latter category is not a homogeneous one. The paper
will explore chances and limitations, will tackle methodological
pitfalls, and will propose an adequate treatment of fragmentary
manuscripts.
22-231 Dave Nielsen, Brigham Young University
The Existence and Importance of New Testament Ostraca
This paper will explore the existence of New Testament ostraca
and their importance for studying both the textual and the social history of early Christianity. Dozens have been discovered
to date yet they are seemingly unknown by most scholars. These
have been forgotten since they are omitted in critical editions
and lists (save one in the Kurzgefasste Liste). However, only until
all witnesses are examined can the full history of the text and
its reception be written. This paper seeks to fill this lacuna by
1) discussing all known New Testament ostraca and their provenance, dates, etc., and 2) outlining their value for the overall
study of Christian origins.
22-231 Matthew V. Novenson, Princeton Theological
Seminary
Marginal Annotation in the Greek New Testament Papyri
To date, no catalog has been made of marginalia in the 124 registered Greek New Testament papyri. Building on a 1997 study
by Eldon Epp, I undertake in the paper to fill this lacuna. I document several marginalia, most of them text-critical, in only a
few MSS. My findings suggest that marginal annotation of New
Testament MSS was relatively uncommon prior to the fifth c.
C.E. and that most exceptions to this rule derive from an unusually literate monastic social setting. One text-critical implication
is that the interpolation of marginal glosses is unlikely to have
been common in this period.
22-231 Geoffrey Smith, Princeton University
The Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex and Its Community of Readers
Among the so-called “Dishna Papers” is the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex, a fascinating fourth-century book containing an
assortment of canonical and non-canonical Christian texts. In
the nearly sixty years since the discovery of the Dishna Papers,
the individual tractates have received much attention, especially
the two Epistles of Peter and the Epistle of Jude, since they are
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among our earliest witnesses of these New Testament epistles.
Although the codex as a whole has also received scholarly attention, this interest has been limited to its complicated binding
history and the overarching logic or theological tendencies of
the collection. Though these codicological issues are not yet
settled, this paper raises an additional set of questions about this
ancient book arising from recent advances in our understanding
of reading as a social practice: How did this book participate in
the broader social and cultural systems of fourth-century Christians in Upper Egypt? What types of reading practices does its
formatting facilitate and how do these reading practices relate
to its community of readers? To answer these and related questions, this paper will pay careful attention to the physical features
of the codex itself, i.e. marginal notes, colopha, formatting, etc.,
and explore its probable connection with the nearby Pachomian
monastic community.
22-231 Charles E. Hill, Reformed Theological Seminary
Diplai Sacra? The Scribal “Quotation Marks” in P.Oxy 3.405
(Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.9.3) and Elsewhere
P. Oxy 3.405, consisting of fragments of Irenaeus’ Against Heresies 3.9.3, has gained some notoriety over the years for its text
and its early (late second or early third century) date. This paper
takes up an under-reported scribal feature of the text, its marginal diples used to draw attention to the quotation from Matt.
3.16–17. The paper explores the background for P. Oxy. 405 in
the varied use of diples in secular literary texts, then examines
their use as indicators of Scriptural citations in Christian texts.
It deliberates on the likelihood that in P. Oxy. 405 is the earliest
surviving instance of a Christian scribal convention parallel in
some ways to the nomina sacra, marking not sacred names but
sacred texts.
22-233a E. Elizabeth Johnson, Columbia Theological Seminary
Paul’s Reliance on Scripture in 1 Thessalonians
Although Paul uses a good bit of what we recognize as biblical language and several phrases that seem to echo the Bible in
1 Thessalonians, nowhere does he quote scripture as he does
in the Hauptbriefe. This essay seeks to understand how the
scattered echoes and allusions to scripture in 1 Thessalonians
demonstrate the shape of Paul’s apocalyptic theology, whether
or not those echoes and allusions would have been recognized
by his Thessalonian listeners.
22-233a Stephen E. Fowl, Loyola College in Maryland
The Use of Scripture in Philippians: How Deep Should We Dig?
There are very few direct citations of Scripture in Philippians.
Indeed, the use of Job 13:16 often passes unnoticed and Isa.
45:23 is incorporated into the so-called hymn of 2:6–11. At the
same time an attentive reader can dig beneath the surface of Philippians to find a variety of Scritpural passages and themes lying
beneath the surface. This raises a variety of interpretive questions about where and how deep one should dig and to what
purpose. This paper will both display some of the Scriptural
echoes in Philipians and examine how the excavation process
might or might not shape interpretation of the epistle.
22-234 You Lim Hahn, Golden Gate Baptist Theological
Seminary
Verb Parsing Flowchart as a Visual Tool for Reading Biblical
Greek
This poster describes a verb parsing flowchart as a visual tool
for reading Biblical Greek. The purpose of this tutorial tool is
to provide a step-by-step visual guide for parsing verbs. Parsing
a Greek verb is a sequential process of multiple-step decision
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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making, whether students perceive each step consciously or
unconsciously. My verb parsing flowchart is intended to assist
students by breaking the parsing process into decision-making
steps and by illustrating the steps visually. The flowchart visualizes the cognitive process in parsing and thereby aids students
in understanding the process and making better choices. From
my tutoring experience and observation of introductory Greek
classes, I have noticed that students are often overwhelmed by
numerous endings, paradigms and charts. Students often struggle because of the order in which they parse verbs. They attempt
to move from the lower categories to higher categories, while
the reverse order is better for the recognition of verb-composing elements such as augments, tense formatives, and personal
endings.
22-234 Michael Johnson, Buffalo State College
Aspects of Creativity Theory in Genesis 1:1
Genesis 1:1 juxtaposes four immense concepts: “In the beginning (the supreme timescale) God (the supreme Being) created
(engagement in the supreme activity) the heavens and the earth”
(the supreme product). In grammatical terms, the ultimate adverb qualifies the verb behind all verbs, with the preeminent
subject acting on the fullest object. The Torah may thus be
construed as beginning with—and thereby emerging from—a
nexus of four irreducible categories in human thought: the declaration of an action, its situation in a context, together with the
specification of its agent, and an indication of its object. Analysis of this paradeigmatic statement in terms of a contemporary
theory of creativity (Creative Problem Solving—CPS) shows
a consonance between Genesis 1:1 and the four distinct facets
of the formal study of human creativity. In terms of the “Four
P’s” of the theory, these aspects draw attention to the Press (the
context) for creative activity, the prerequisite traits of the Person who is creating, the Process of creating, and the Product
of creative activity. This poster associates the aforementioned
semantic concepts and categories in Genesis 1:1 with the four
aspects of creativity: an original image schematizes the summative first statement of the text which substantiates the basic
building blocks of thinking as we know it.
22-234 Kevin McFadden, Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary
Relative Time in the Greek Participle
This poster will focus on relative time in the Greek participle.
It will summarize both the traditional understanding of Greek
grammarians that tense-forms are used for relative time and S.
Porter’s new view that the order of the participle in relation to
the primary verb indicates relative time (Porter 1992). These two
theories will be evaluated by interacting with two recent studies
of the adverbial participles in Mark and Luke by R. Picirilli (2007
and forthcoming). They will also be evaluated by a study of the
adverbial participles in Galatians, 1 Peter, and perhaps Romans,
adding evidence from a different genre. This genre-specific study
is important in order to evaluate Wallace’s tentative suggestion
that the aorist participle “is more frequently contemporaneous
in the epistles than in narrative literature” (Wallace 1996: 614,
n. 2). The poster will likely conclude against S. Porter’s theory
of order and in favor of a chastened form of the traditional understanding. It will also include practical suggestions for how to
teach relative time in the Greek participle.
22-234 Christine E. Shander, Princeton Theological Seminary
An Unusual Invitation: An Exploration of Luke’s Use of the Eschatological Jubilee and Banquet
This paper is a continuation of Literary Structuring of Meals in
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the Gospel of Luke, where I proposed that the meals in the public
ministry years are related to the programmatic use of “the year
of the Lord’s favor” in 4:18–19. Surveying select texts within the
Hebrew Bible and Qumran Scrolls, this paper attempts to further understand the employment and significance of the “year of
the Lord’s favor” (and related eschatological Jubilee and banquet
motifs) within the Gospel of Luke.
22-234 Carol Wimmer, Tulsa, OK
Genesis One-A Prismatic Perspective
The poster examines an unexplored intersection between Genesis 1 (the visible spectrum of light and the measurement of
time) and Ezekiel’s inaugural vision of wheels. The presentation defends the notion that the final version of Genesis 1, as
recorded in the Pentateuch, employs the rainbow as a prismatic
framework for the narrative. The prismatic perspective of Genesis 1 combines historical-critical methodology with the history
of horology and an elementary understanding of the science of
light. Traditional scholarship has denied a connection between
science and the Genesis account of Creation because, to date, the
relationship between Genesis 1, the ancient science of horology
and the science of light, has not been considered. Therefore, the
poster and accompanying paper offer insight into three aspects
of this ancient story which must be included in a responsible
historical-critical interpretation of the text: 1.the use of the rainbow as a storytelling method 2.a timekeeping purpose for the
story and 3.the role that the prophet, Ezekiel, may have played in
crafting the story in its final canonical form.
22-235 Esther Fuchs, University of Arizona
Women as Prophets / Women in Prophets: Gender, Nation and
Discourse in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible refers to the activities of women prophets
in crucial junctures in the national narrative. Miriam appears
in the story of the birth of the nation, Deborah appears in the
story of tribal consolidation and Huldah appears in the story
of monarchic demise. While the label “nebi’ah” clearly refers to
prophetic activity, the performance and discursive expression of
this activity are ambiguous and circumscribed (Fuchs, 2001). In
the former prophets women mostly appear in the role of followers of and dependents on male prophets. In the latter prophets
the woman prophet as a model of discursive authority is transformed into a sexual figure of speech. This figure of speech has
been the object of much feminist discussion and for the most
part identified as a pornographic trope (Weems, 1995, Brenner,
1997; 2001). In a previous essay I argued that the replacement
and displacement of the woman prophet as an agent of speech
and mediator of divine purpose into a figure of prophetic speech
be understood in terms of an “andro-theistic” dynamic crucial
to the construction of monotheism as privileged discourse. In
this essay I will draw on Luce Irigaray (1985) and her suggestive
theory of phallocratic discourse, as well as on the postcolonial
theories of Homi (1990, 1994). My intention is to reframe the
analysis of women prophets and women in prophets within the
political context of the biblical construction and deconstruction
of the nation. While the narrative construction of the nation
represents female prophets as both legitimate and privileged
conduits of divine communication, the poetic deconstruction
of the nation bifurcates female imagery into the “prostitute” or
“adulteress” trope on the one hand, and virgin/widow “daughter
Zion” on the other. The prophetic deconstruction uses the feminine as a discursive trope for a national “body” that is displaced
by an idea of future redemption that will enable the perfection
and completion of the nation as it was originally meant to be.
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22-235 Wil Gafney, Lutheran Theological Seminary at
Philadelphia
HaNeviyoth: Who Were These Women of God and What Were
They Doing in the Scriptures of Israel?
This paper will discuss the literary evidence pertaining to female
prophets in the scriptures of Israel. The canons under consideration include the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Masoretic Text,
the Septuagint, biblical texts at Qumran and the Targumim.
Specifically, this paper will focus on women prophets who are
submerged in masculine and common plural expressions in Biblical Hebrew and excavate the reliance of male prophets on the
female prophetic tradition. This paper will address the number
of women prophets present in the text and read between the
lines of text to find others. The variety of ways in which women
prophesy, and their contexts will be explored: warfare, medicinal, musical, oratorical and more.
22-235 Anselm C. Hagedorn, Humboldt Universität zu
Berlin
The Role of the Female Seer/Prophet in Ancient Greece
The paper investigates the role of the female prophet/seer in
ancient Greece. After some preliminary considerations about
terminology, female religious and mantic authority in Greece
and the relationship between prophetess and priestess we will
look at a (small) selection of Greek female seers and ask how
these figures influenced religious and political practice in Hellas. Next to the figure of the Pythia at Delphi we will offer a
close reading of other prophetic figures such as the daughters
of Teiresias (Daphne and Manto), Cassandra and a certain Diotima, known from Plato’s Symposium (201d). In a third step we
will relate these historical and legendary figures to women of a
similar profession from the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near
East. We will close our survey with a look at the person of the
Sibyl, who in Hellenistic times fuses Greek, Jewish and ancient
Near Eastern prophetic characteristics.
22-235 Antti Marjanen, University of Helsinki
Why Did the Women Prophets Adopt a Central Position in
Montanism?
In addition to Montanus, the Montanist movement, “New Prophecy,” can thank two women prophets, Priscilla and Maximilla,
for its existence. Although Montanus was the initiator and the
first leader of the movement (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 5.16.7; 5.18.2),
the role these two women adopted in Montanism does not seem
to be less influential. Their prominent role is underlined by the
fact that when some mainstream Church leaders tried to meet
the challenge of Montanism it was precisely the women prophets
they encountered. The prophetic proclamation of both Priscilla
and Maximilla often led to the attempts of the Catholic bishops
or other ecclesiastical leaders to exorcize the spirit they believed
to be effective in the women (Hist. eccl. 5.16.16; 5.18.13; 5.19.3).
That approximately a half of the Montanist oracles preserved
to posterity are attributed to the women prophets also demonstrates their crucial position in the “New Prophecy.” Later, other
women prophets assumed a position similar to that of Priscilla
and Maximilla in the movement. What were the reasons for the
visible role Montanist women prophets were able to adopt in this
early Christian movement, which was later rejected as heretical
partly because of the strong participation of women in its leadership? The present paper seeks to present answers to this question
while it also engages in a more general discussion about the criteria of the acceptable form of early Christian prophecy.
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22-235 Hanna Tervanotko, University of Helsinki / University of Vienna
Speaking in Dreams: The Figure of Miriam and Prophecy
The literary figure of Miriam is referred to as a prophetess in
Exod 15:20, yet the Hebrew Bible does not give any explanation
for the use of this title in any of the passages where Miriam appears (Num 12:1–15, 20:1, 26:59, Deut 24:9, 1 Chr 5:29, Micah
6:4). Moreover, Miriam is punished when she questions Moses’
exclusive prophesy in Num 12:2. Hence, how should Miriam’s
own prophetic role be understood? Num 12:6–7 suggests that
while God speaks directly with Moses, other people can be
addressed in dreams. The Hebrew Bible preserves various narrations where different individuals receive divine messages in their
dreams. Abraham (Gen 20), Jacob (Gen 28), Samuel (1 Sam 3),
Nathan (2 Sam 7), Solomon (1 Kgs 3) and Elijah (1 Kgs 19) are
all linked to dream visions. Ancient Jewish literature attests
likewise to Miriam’s visionary dream (LAB 9:10, possibly also
4QVisions of Amramd 12, 6). In her dream, Miriam sees Moses’
future and significance. Should these dreams be understood as
God addressing Miriam in a dream? This paper asks for a new
interpretation of Num 12:6. What is the relationship between
Num 12:6 and the texts that link Miriam to dreams? Can this
interpretation shed some fresh light to Miriam’s prophetic role?
Moreover, the paper takes into account the wider Near Eastern
context. What kind of parallels can one find for prophetesses’
dreams in its context?
22-235 Jonathan Stökl, University of Cambridge
Gender Ambiguity in Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy? A Re-Assessment of the Data Behind a Popular Theory
In this paper I will re-assess the question of gender ambiguity
in ancient Near Eastern prophecy. Many interpreters stress the
ambiguous gender-roles of prophets in the ancient Near East.
This argument is usually based on the presence of prophecies by
assinnu in the prophetic texts in Mari and the peculiar spelling
of several names in Neo-Assyrian texts. By going through the
texts and discussing the terms that are used for prophets and
prophetesses, I will show that rather than being a central aspect
of ancient Near Eastern prophecy, gender ambiguity is itself a
marginal aspect of ‘lay’ prophecy, and entirely absent from professional prophecy. A quick comparison with anthropological
data confirms that ‘sacred marriage’ as understood by Saana
Teppo in a recent article on the Devotees of Ištar is more common than gender ambiguity among prophetic figures. In light of
this, I will argue that the theory of an alleged gender ambiguity
in ancient Near Eastern prophecy should be thoroughly revised
or even discarded entirely.
22-235 Lester L. Grabbe, University of Hull
Her Outdoors: An Anthropological Perspective on Female Prophets and Prophecy
Prophetic and related figures are often male, as is the case with
most such figures in the Hebrew Bible. And yet, just as there are
a few female prophets in the Bible, there are female prophetictype individuals known in many different cultures. Making use
of a variety of examples taken from anthropological study, this
paper will explore the place and characteristics of female prophets and prophecy from a cross-cultural perspective.
22-236 C. J. Patrick Davis, University of Manchester
An Egyptian Epistle for the Golah: Redaction and History in the
Apocryphon of Jeremiah
The classification of MSS. from the Qumran scrolls has proved
to be fraught with difficulties, and this is clearly demonstrated
in the assignment of material to the composition designated by
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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Devorah Dimant as the Apocryphon of Jeremiah C. Most recently, Cana Werman has challenged her arrangement of the
texts, and has argued that these scrolls rather belong to two separate works: the Apocryphon of Jeremiah C (4Q385a, 4Q387,
4Q388a, 4Q389, 4Q387a), and Pseudo-Moses (4Q390). This reconfiguration is based on the lack of overlaps present in 4Q390
with any of the other Apocryphon texts, different themes, and
alternative methods for calculating eschatological epochs. While
Werman has provided a better explanation than Dimant for the
two eschatological sections that dominate the MSS., her article
does not adequately address the many “verbal and thematic
links”—particularly with the narrative section in 4Q385a frg.
18—that originally convinced Dimant to include 4Q390 among
the Apocryphon texts. In this paper I shall attempt to resolve the
discrepancies between Dimant’s and Werman’s interpretation of
the six MSS. assigned to the Apocryphon. Dimant’s sequence
shows a clear relationship between all the scrolls as part of an
ancient Jewish apocalypse featuring the prophet Jeremiah. In
Werman’s study of the two eschatological sections she has argued for situating these in separate milieus. However, I propose
that what Werman has detected is actually part of a three-stage
redactional process in the transmission of a single composition.
I shall briefly discuss the unique ideological and thematic features of each of the eschatological sections, and how they are
informed by the historical framing of the narrative from 4Q385a
frg. 18. I will then demonstrate how they attest to the transformation of the Apocryphon from an anti-Hellenistic polemic for
the Jewish Diaspora into a sharp internal critique of the Hasmonean priesthood.
22-236 Bennie H. Reynolds III, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
When Cyrus Wasn’t Great: History, Rhetoric, and Scripture in
the Apocryphon of Jeremiah C
Before Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylonia in 539 BCE, he began an effective propaganda campaign against Nabonidus. The
Cyrus Cylinder indicates that he continued this campaign afterward. Cyrus’ effective propaganda appears to have targeted the
Levant as well. Both Isaiah 45 and Ezra1:1–4 paint a picture of
the rise of Cyrus as a great shift from the period of Babylonian
rule. Not all ancient Jewish depictions of Cyrus or Persia are as
flattering. Some Jewish texts from the Hellenistic period cease
to view the rise of Persia as a major transition in Jewish history.
Rather than marking the end of a period of divine punishment,
the rule of Persia merely marks the change from one overlord
to another. This is apparently how the writer of Daniel 9 viewed
the situation—updating Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years
(cf. Jer 25:11–12, 29:10) to seventy weeks of years. The same
idea obtains in texts like the Apocalypse of Weeks, the Animal
Apocalypse, and the Damascus Document. The Apocryphon
of Jeremiah C narrates the Exile and the Persian period as part
of its ex eventu historical review. Both its chronological framework (ten jubilees of years) and its rhetoric paint a picture of
the Persian period that shares great continuity with the period
of Babylonian rule. In this paper I analyze linguistic similarities
between descriptions of the exile and Persian period in Apocryphon of Jeremiah C, the Book of Jeremiah, and Deutero-Isaiah.
I argue that the Apocryphon of Jeremiah C does not simply offer
an alternative account of the same events, but appears to employ rhetorical techniques that specifically respond to and reject
the sense of optimism located in these biblical books. Cyrus the
Great is transformed from the Annointed of YHWH to a blasphemer and doer of evil.
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22-236 Todd Russell Hanneken, Saint Mary’s University
The Use of Jubilees in 4Q390: Adoption and Adaptation of Authority
This paper focuses on 4Q390 to study a pattern that appears to
occur among several texts discovered at Qumran. 4Q390 depends on Jubilees, but makes subtle changes in language with
significant changes in meaning. Although much of the language
in 4Q390 could come from other sources, some parts of 4Q390
distinctly echo Jubilees, and almost all parts of 4Q390 could
come from Jubilees. Close examination shows that 4Q390 follows Jubilees more than any other text. The persistent resonance
suggests use of Jubilees for authority. Remarkably, however, the
use of authority does not extend to acceptance of the claims
made in Jubilees. In some cases, the exact language appears with
variation only in a negative particle, “not.” In other cases, variation in a word or context allows familiar language to resonate
with substantially different meaning. Jubilees asserts that God
never allows angels (good or bad) to rule over Israel, but 4Q390
uses the same language without the negative particle—the angels of Mastema WILL rule over Israel. Jubilees rejects sectarian
division within Israel, but 4Q390 asserts that only a few are chosen while most of Israel is abandoned to annihilation. Jubilees
takes a positive view of the priesthood and temple of recent
memory (other than Jason, Menelaus and Alcimus), and asserts
their eternal validity. In 4Q390, the entire post-exilic priesthood
parallels the rule of wicked angels. 4Q390 also echoes the language of jubilee periods, but changes the idea in Jubilees that sin
and punishment depend on human choice, not predetermined
periods. The case of 4Q390 points to fluidity in the adaptation
of literature and ideas. It calls for greater attention to the nuances of the authority of Jubilees at Qumran, and challenges the
reconstruction of intellectual history based on shared language
alone.
22-236 Jesper Høgenhaven, University of Copenhagen
The Tale of Bagasrava (4Q550) and Biblical Tradition
The manuscript fragments designed as 4Q550 have recently been
published in DJD XXVII by É. Puech, who has chosen to give
these fragments the title “Jews at the Persian court” (“4QJuifs à
la cour perse ar”). The fragments contain a narrative in Aramaic,
telling of Jewish high officials at the court of the Persian king. A
father, Patireza, is succeeded by his son, Bagasrava (or Bagasro),
who appears to be the protagonist of the story. The villain of
the narrative, a certain Bagoshi, seems to be the instigator of a
court intrigue against Bagsrava, and is executed at the end of the
story. The nature of the relationship between the text of these
fragments and biblical tradition has been a much debated issue
since 1992, when J.T. Milik published a preliminary edition. Milik maintained that the Aramaic narrative texts found in 4Q550
represent an early version of the Esther story. Milik’s view was
controversial in the light of the general agreement that the Book
of Esther is not represented among the biblical fragments from
Qumran. The narrative of 4Q550 has also been interpreted as
a secondary elaboration on biblical traditions. And they have
been seeen as representing similar motifs as the “royal courtier”
stories of Daniel and Esther, without any demonstrable direct
literary. A renewed reading of the 4Q550 fragments, based on
the recent DJD edition, confirms the impression that the text
represents a single coherent narrative. This paper, while discussing some of the controversial readings in 4Q550, and addressing
the issue of the orginal sequence of the fragments, will attempt
a fresh examination of the relationship between the Bagasrava
story, as presented in 4Q550, and biblical stories of Jews at foreign courts. The paper will throw light on some more detailed
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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aspects of motifs common to the Aramaic Bagsrava story and
biblical tradition, and try to assess their possible background.
22-236 Molly Zahn, University of Kansas
Textual Reworking in the 4QRP Manuscripts: Similar Techniques, Different Results
This paper will present the results of a detailed study of the
rewriting of the pentateuchal text in the 4QReworked Pentateuch manuscripts (4Q158, 4Q364–367). While the texts were
originally presented by their editors as five copies of a single composition, subsequent studies, especially that of Brooke in DSD 8,
have suggested that the manuscripts more likely represent different, though related, compositions. A thorough investigation of
the ways the pentateuchal text is reworked in each manuscript
and the particular exegetical goals addressed by the reworking
complements the results of these earlier studies and allows for
a more precise characterization of the interrelationships among
the manuscripts. I will demonstrate that, while all five manuscripts use the same relatively limited range of techniques for
reworking the text, and often deploy these techniques in similar
ways, each of the three major 4QRP manuscripts (4Q158, 4Q364,
and 4Q365) is unique in the frequency with which it uses certain
techniques and the types of purposes served by its reworking.
The two very fragmentary manuscripts 4Q366 and 4Q367, despite their small extant size, also emerge with a distinct profile
when compared to the others, and as such constitute a subgroup.
The paper will also consider how this detailed examination of
the 4QRP manuscripts advances our understanding of the more
general phenomenon of textual reworking in the Second Temple
period. I will argue that more attention must be paid, not just to
the amount of deviation from received versions of the scriptural
text and to the authority claims of the new composition, but to
the interrelationships between a variety of factors, including the
frequency and size of the changes made, the specific techniques
used, the purposes to which these techniques are put, and the
shape of the resulting composition.
22-237 William K. Gilders, Emory University
Ancient Israelite Sacrifice as Symbolic Action: Some Theoretical
Reflections
Sacrifice is commonly identified as a type of ritual. Many of
the classic and influential definitions of ritual characterize it
as symbolic action, which communicates meaning. Thus, sacrificial activity would, by definition, be symbolic in character.
Influenced to various degrees by this basic theoretical proposition, many treatments of sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible use the
language of symbolism to deal with issues of meaning. There is,
however, considerable room for discussion about what it means
to identify a cultural phenomenon as “symbolic,” and about
whether the Israelite authors of the biblical texts thought of sacrificial activity in symbolic terms. Some key theoretical questions
require close attention. What is a “symbol”? What is involved
in identifying a cultural phenomenon as symbolic in character?
In what ways do symbols communicate meaning? What types
of meanings do they communicate? Addressing such questions
will move scholars of the Hebrew Bible a considerable distance
towards clarity and precision in their discussion of the nature
and function of ancient Israelite sacrifice as it is represented in
the Hebrew Bible.
22-237 Henrietta L. Wiley, College of Notre Dame of
Maryland
Gender Dynamics in the Study of Ritual Sacrifice
With rare though significant exception, the major figures in
the academic study of sacrifice have been men. The important
work done by female scholars in the area of ancient Israelite re106
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ligion, especially in the last forty years, does not seem to have
made the same impact on mainstream sacrificial theory as that
of male scholars. Notable exceptions include Nancy Jay and
Mary Douglas, who have played major roles in advancing the
scholarly conversation about the nature and meaning of ritual
sacrifice, but only a handful of other women are actively engaging topics in this area. Why is this? This paper will examine a
sample of women’s scholarship on sacrifice in the context of the
field at large. It will consider what aspects of the field may be at
work to preserve the predominance of male voices, and whether
there are any categorical reasons to actively pursue more gender
balance.
22-237 William L. Lyons, Regent University
Does God “Appreciate Human Sacrifice”? Herem and Sacrifice in
the Hebrew Bible.
War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study of the Ethics of Violence, by
Susan Niditch (1993), changed the way we look at military conflicts in the Bible. Her thoroughgoing work demonstrates that
although the ancient Israelites were different from modern Bible
readers in many ways, they were also similar to them because
they too worried about the ethics and justness of war. In support
of the diversity of biblical perspectives on war, Niditch proffers
seven distinct approaches to war preserved in the Bible (e.g.,
“The Ban as God’s Portion”; “The Bardic Tradition of War”; etc).
This spectrum of perspectives on war may be seen, as Niditch
holds, via an intra-biblical debate evinced in self-contradictory
texts as the biblical writers tried to make sense of the violence of
war. Niditch’s reading of herem (the “ban”) passages, however,
is less productive. She maintains that these passages provide
evidence to show that God “appreciates human sacrifice” (34,
152). Does the Bible support her conclusion? Did the ancient
Israelites understand their God in this way, or does Niditch
misconstrue the evidence? Is there “no better sacrifice,” as she
claims, than human sacrifice? An analysis of the biblical concept of sacrifice does not support Niditch’s proposal. Rather, as
this study shows, the biblical herem could never be construed
to be a sacrifice. Moreover, Niditch’s analysis relies too heavily
upon extra-Levantine sociological and anthropological research
about sacrifice while largely ignoring most of the salient biblical
passages about it. Although Niditch’s book advances our understanding of warfare in the Bible, it seriously misreads the biblical
data on sacrifice and then ultimately misinterprets herem in the
Bible.
22-237 Göran Eidevall, University of Uppsala
The Role of Sacrificial Language in Prophetic Rhetoric
For more than one century, research on the theme of sacrifice in
the prophetic books has been dominated by one question: Did
the classical prophets (e.g., Amos and Jeremiah) reject the sacrificial cult? A consensus is not yet in sight. Arguably, the time
has come for a new approach. In this paper, some preliminary
results from a work in progress will be presented. The project
focuses on rhetorical and metaphorical usage of sacrificial language in the prophetic literature in the Hebrew Bible. Rhetorical
analysis will be applied on a selection of the most relevant texts,
in an attempt to answer the following questions: To what extent
are words and expressions connected to the sacrificial cult used
in passages dealing with other topics than sacrifice? Which rites,
and which aspects of these rites, provide the basis for the construction of metaphors? Which aspects are downplayed? How
can the rhetorical purpose be defined in each case? Who or what
is depicted as the victim? In this way it will be possible to obtain
a refined understanding of rhetorical strategies and ideological
issues in the prophetic literature. A study like this may also have
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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a bearing on the reconstruction of symbolical and theological interpretations of the rites performed within the sacrificial
cult of ancient Judah and Israel. A number of passages from the
books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel will be discussed.
22-239 Robin Gallaher Branch, Crichton College
An Unusual Response to an Upcoming National Calamity:
Habakkuk’s Choice of Joy
The prophet Habakkuk, a contemporary of Jeremiah and perhaps an accomplished musician, wonders about the evils he sees
daily in Judah. Burdened with a bold sense of justice, he queries
God (Hab. 1:1–4). Why does violence rule the land? God answers
this covenant believer with horrifying words: the Chaldeans are
coming and bringing with them both correction and devastation (1:5–11)! Habakkuk then asks why the Holy One tolerates
the treachery of the wicked; indeed, how long will God look the
other way (1:12–2:1)? God replies with a vision detailing the
woes coming upon those who are full of pride, trade in bloodshed, covet, and press others toward drunkenness (2:2–15). The
Book of Habakkuk not only is a dialogue between the prophet
and his God, but also shows the prophet’s personal struggle of
faith. It records his spiritual temperature. His questions are not
arguments, but sincere requests for clarification. In chapter 3,
his song, Habakkuk confesses his fear yet praises God for his
mighty deeds in Israel’s past (3:1–15). Although trembling because of Judah’s approaching calamities, Habakkuk chooses joy
(3:16, 18). Knowing he and his people face the sword, starvation,
and exile, Habakkuk demonstrably exults in God his strength
(3:17–18). Although his world soon will dissolve into chaos and
bloodshed, Habakkuk responds in an unusual way: he literally
leaps for joy because of his relationship with God (3:19)! Consequently, Habakkuk the prophet presents one biblical model
for facing a single or even multiple catastrophes: Question God;
struggle with what God answers; be honest; give yourself time;
and ultimately, no matter what, choose to rejoice. Why? Because
joy acknowledges God’s sovereignty and character.
22-243 Tomas Bokedal, Aberdeen University
The Rule of Faith: Tracing its Origins
The Rule of Faith, the Ecclesiastical Canon, or simply the Faith
or Kerygma, are terms used from early on to designate the basic theology of the church. This language emerged as a first and
second century response to questions raised in the Christian
communities. Irenaeus, and later Tertullian and Clement, frequently mention the Rule of Faith, referring to the sum content
of apostolic teaching. This early Christian Rule is widely associated with baptism, catechetical teaching and creedal formulation.
There are many reasons for seeking to trace its origins. It is not
insignificant that the Greek word kanon had a long history, with
a spectrum of meanings, such as ‘rule’, ‘prototype’, ‘tool of exactitude’ and ‘criterion’. For Christian usage, it is also worth noticing
early Jewish and New Testament uses of the term ‘canon’. With
creedal formulations of what later came to be called the Rule or
Canon of Faith appearing already in 1 Clement, and with earlier
reminiscences of creedal like formulations throughout the New
Testament, the goal set for this paper is to trace the origins of the
Rule of Faith in light of the first and second century emergence
of the concept. As part of the discussion, the question of a unifying New Testament kerygma is addressed.
22-243 Nathan MacDonald, University of St. AndrewsScotland
Irenaeus’ Rule of Truth and Scripture
This paper examines the relationship between Irenaeus’ Rule
of Truth and Scripture. It argues that the Rule of Truth does
not trace a scriptural metanarrative that spans creation to con●
summation. This understanding depends on a misreading of
Irenaeus’ Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching. Rather
the Rule of Truth helps make sense of the diversity of Scripture,
particularly the unity of Law and Prophets in testifying to the
salvific work of Jesus Christ.
22-243 Ephraim Radner, Wycliffe College
Applying the Rule of Faith: Herbert Thorndike and the Scriptural
Church
Herbert Thorndike was one the most creative British theologians of the seventeenth century. Among the first early modern
theologians to examine the patristic notion of the “rule of faith,”
he attempted to use it as a means to describe a framework for
the reunion of Christians in England during the Interregnum.
This presentation will examine his argument with Puritanism
over the relationship of Scripture to the Church ‘s life and the nature of a Christian Scriptural culture. Thorndike provides a very
broad understanding of the Rule of Faith that remains relevant
to contemporary interest in how the Rule relates to Scriptural
interpretation and formation.
22-244 Dalit Rom-Shiloni, Tel Aviv University
Jerusalem and Israel, Synonyms or Antonyms? Jewish Exegesis on
Ezekiel’s Prophecies against Jerusalem
Ezekiel sets a clear distinction between Jerusalem and Israel.
“Jerusalem” is a metonymy for its inhabitants, the people who
remained in Judah after the Jehoiachin Exile and even after the
Destruction (as in Ezekiel 4, 5, 16, 22, 23, 24); “Israel” (“bnei Israel,” and commonly “beit Israel”) stands for the Jehoiachin Exiles
in Babylon (Ezekiel 11:14–21, 20, 36, etc.). Throughout prophecies of judgment and deliverance in Ezekiel, the two stand in a
clear opposition. “Jerusalem” is doomed to total calamity, while
“Israel,” the Jehoiachin Exiles, though repeatedly rebuked, they
are the addressees of life and hopeful future. The present study
examines post-biblical exegesis to Ezekiel investigating the question whether and to what extent was this opposition retained in
Rabbinic and Medieval exegesis. The paper challenges the reception history of Ezekiel with a topic in which the prophet presents
an extremely exclusive position, asking do interpreters follow
the prophet? or, do they over-bridge the intentional division between the two Judean communities with inclusive tendencies?
22-244 Daniel O’Hare, University of Notre Dame
Foreigners and Native Jews in LXX Ezekiel 40–48
While MT Ezekiel 40–48 is concerned primarily with the restoration of the threatened nation, the LXX translation of these
chapters took into account the changed historical and cultural
context in which these chapters were read. LXX Ezekiel 40–48
represents a more inclusive view of Judaism, in which proselytes are incorporated directly within the tribal structure (Ezek
47:21–23) and the fructifying river proceeding from the Temple
extends into Galilee and Arabia (Ezek 47:8). In this way, the religious dimension of Jewish life so central to Ezekiel’s definition
of Judaism is mediated outward, with the result that in Israel “all
the clans of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3).
22-244 John Ahn, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Ezekiel 15: 597, 587, and 582
Ezekiel is said to have been a prophet, a priest and prophet, an
author, or even a pastor and lawgiver who lived with the first
wave (597 BCE) of Judean forced (im)migrants in Babylon. In
passing, this paper was the selected as the best paper for the
Southwest Regional in 2008. And in this presentation, on the
national level, I continue to press and challenge the notion that
this chapter is undatable. To the contrary, this passage, which
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depicts a charred vine image on both ends and the middle, has
captivated the imagination of many commentators throughout
the centuries. Interestingly, they all begin by asking, why relay
the fact that the ends and even the middle are all burned? Why
state the fact that because it is burned, it can never be made into
a useful tool (v.5)? Brownlee has suggested that the burnings
are Zedekiah (2 Kings 15.1–4) (587 B.C.E.), Gedaliah in residence at Mizpah after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE
(2 Kings 25.22–26; Jer 40.7–43.7; Ezek 33.23–29), and a future
burning of those rebellious nations to whom Judean refugees
(Jer 43.8–44.30; Ezek 25–30) fled, “…for those who escape by
the sword at Jerusalem will be pursued by it in the diaspora”
(Ezek 5.12). Zimmerli on the other hand, saw the first burning
as the catastrophe under Jehoiachin (597 B.C.E.). He rejected
the interpretation offered by Heinisch and Schumpp who suggested that the first burning is that of Israel in 721 B.C.E. and the
other end being Judah in 587 B.C.E.—leaving the charred group
of the 597 B.C.E. in the middle. I think Zimmerli was on the
correct path. However, he never finished his thought. My thesis
is to complete what Zimmerli started, namely, that the charred
vine imagery indeed encapsulates all three displacements and
resettlements of the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 597, 587,
and 582 B.C.E. Now, to fully appreciate the imagery and allegory
in Ezekiel 15, Ezek 12 provides an important map to establishing the background for our text. In chapter 12, Ezekiel is told by
God to literally enact the actual task of being taken into forced
migration. So during the day, Ezekiel prepares the “exilic pack”
or his “forced migration bag” which consists of a skin (holding
flour or water), a mat (for sitting and lying), and a bowl (for eating and drinking). Along with Dan 6.10, 13—Daniel opened the
windows that faced Jerusalem and “prayed three times a day,”
I come to suggest when the text may be dated to, but also the
rich and unique theological implications associated with each
displacement in 597, 587, and 582.
22-245 Kevin Osterloh, Miami University
Multiple Forms of Judean Patriotism: Redefining the Martyrologies of 2 Maccabees
Martyrs and martyrdom are often viewed as central concerns of
the second-century BCE text 2 Maccabees. The association of 2
Maccabees with martyrology is an ancient one. This is confirmed
by the popularity of the story of Eleazar and the Mother and her
Seven Sons of 2 Macc 6–7 which dominates the first-century CE
text 4 Maccabees, and spawned a dynamic Nachleben in late antique and medieval Judaism and Christianity. However, when
viewed in the broader context of the supposed martyrological
Ur-text 2 Maccabees, these two accounts (in addition to the macabre tale of Razis in 2 Macc 14) take on a more complex hue
which problematizes our understanding of the terms martyr and
martyrology, defies any easy application of these terms to these
stories in particular, and undermines the already ancient view
that 2 Maccabees is overtly concerned with martyrs per se—at
least, that is, with any passive variety thereof. In this talk I will
analyze these supposed martyrologies within the broader context of 2 Maccabees in order to discern their function within
the text, and the meaning of the text as a whole. My claim is
that the narrator has blurred the lines between the active heroism of the Judean warriors and a potentially passive civilian
population in order to assimilate the behavior of the latter to the
willfully aggressive acts of battlefield valor displayed by Judah
Maccabee and his men. Taken as a whole, the Iliad-esque heroics of Judean warriors (e.g. the Judean cavalryman Dositheus
who strong-arms Gorgias in battle) occupy as much, if not more,
space and literary flourish than the celebrated martyr stories,
with both serving the same purpose of inculcating the youth of
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the Judean ethnos with examples of nobility and virtue in the
service of defending Judean custom. The actions of all these
Judean patriots—the term “martyr” is absent from the text—are
interwoven into a narrative that co-opts Greek aretê-speak in
defense of Iouda?smos from the perceived threat of Greeks and
Greekness, while demonstrating the control of the Judean patriots over their own bodies in the face of foreign aggression. As
such, the actions of Eleazar and company approximate the sort
of heroism ascribed to typical Roman heroes such as G. Mucius Scaevola who, while sacrificing his flesh to the Etruscan fire,
states in Livy’s later account, “It would take no less courage to die
than it would to kill. To do and to suffer bravely is the Roman
way” (nec ad mortem minus animi est quam fuit ad caedem: et
facere et pati fortia Romanum est), thereby revealing a potential
object of emulation for the author of 2 Maccabees and his elite
Judean contemporaries: a particular sort of Roman virtue that
celebrates death not as a state of being imposed upon a passive
victim, but rather ever and always a free choice of individual and
collective bravery.
22-245 Martha Himmelfarb, Princeton University
The Mother of the Seven Sons in Lamentations Rabbah and the
Virgin Mary
The story of the mother and her seven sons as it appears in Lamentations Rabbah and elsewhere in rabbinic literature is not
dependent on the account in 2 Maccabees; rather it appears to
be a development of a Hebrew tale on which 2 Maccabees relies. The story in Lamentations Rabbah is set at the time of the
Hadrianic persecution, and it describes the Roman emperor as
a pagan. Yet by the time Lamentations Rabbah was compiled,
Roman emperors had embraced Christianity. This paper argues
that the Christian empire is a crucial context for understanding
the story in Lamentations Rabbah and that its depiction of the
mother reflects rabbinic interest in the Virgin Mary and anxiety
about her claims.
22-245 Ra’anan Boustan, University of California-Los
Angeles
Maccabean Martyrs, Rabbinic Narrative, and the Making of a
Post-sacrificial Judaism
This paper analyzes the transformation of the martyrology of the
mother of the seven martyred sons recounted in 2 Macc 7:1–42
and 4 Maccabees within rabbinic narrative. It takes as its starting point the view, most clearly articulated by Jan Willem van
Henten, that the blood of the martyrs in both 2 and 4 Maccabees is linked to an already well-developed notion of vicarious
suffering and death and that it, in turn, restores the disrupted
politico-theocratic order to its rightful form. Yet while the blood
of the martyrs is said to effect the fate of the nation as a whole,
the martyrs’ reward of eternal life (4 Macc 17:18–19; 18:6–19)
is not extended to their compatriots and the punishment meted
out to the oppressor is similarly targeted only against the individual oppressor, Antiochus IV (4 Macc 9:9, 10:11–21, and
12:12–18). In this important respect, 4 Maccabees operates with
a notion of retributive justice quite different from the one found
in historical apocalypses such as Daniel. These variations indicate that the symbolic significance of the image of the blood of
the martyrs is not fixed, but is largely dependent on the larger
literary context and genre in which it appears. By extension, the
meanings that the blood of the martyrs carries in rabbinic narrative are likewise conditioned by the specific contours of the
discourse of blood in Late Antiquity. This is perhaps especially
true within the context of the version of the story of the mother
and her seven sons found in Lamentations Rabbati, a verse-byverse exegetical commentary on the book of Lamentations from
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fifth- or sixth-century Palestine. The creators of this midrashic
work freely juxtaposed Maccabean and rabbinic martyrology
and even recast the Maccabean martyrs as victims of Roman oppression. The narrative in Lamentations Rabbati echoes many of
the features found in its earlier Second Temple parallels, most
notably the theme of the martyrs’ blood. This proves particularly
significant because the blood motif is otherwise absent from all
the other rabbinic versions of the story (bGit 57b; Pesiq. Rbti
43; SER 28 [30]; YalqSh to Deut, §938; YalqSh to Lam, §1029).
I interpret the re-narration of this story in Lamentations Rabbati within the overall programme of the midrash, which, as
a meditation on the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, explicitly explores the nature of religious piety in a post-sacrificial
Judaism.
22-245 Jennifer Knust, Boston University
Jewish Bones and Christian Bibles: The Maccabean Martyrs in
Christian Late Antiquity
Contested and yet widely revered, the story of the Maccabean
martyrs found a secure home within Christian liturgy, text, and
art only in the fifth century, after several energetic defenses of
the martyrs’ Christian, rather than Jewish, pedigree. As such, the
elaboration of a Christian Maccabean cult—complete with feast
days, relics, sacred texts, and a dedicated basilica, founded on
the site of a confiscated Antiochene synagogue—coincides with
a post-Julian consolidation of Christian ascendancy. Once celebrated in Antioch in conjunction with Hanukkah, during the
reign of Theodosius I the feast day of the Maccabean martyrs
was transferred to August 1, marking a clear distinction between
the Jewish and Christian festivals. At the same time, the cult
was universalized, brought to the city of Constantinople and to
other sites. Thus, during his brief tenure in the city, Gregory of
Nazianzus urged the Constantinopolitans to welcome Eleazar,
the seven brothers and their mother among their own chorus of
saints by celebrating a feast in their honor (Discourse 15). Meanwhile in Milan, Ambrose offered his own vivid endorsement of
their story, comparing the seven courageous brothers to a sevenbranched menorah that lights not the Hanukkah festival but the
liturgy of the church (On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.11.47, 53),
an image that may adorn a contemporary Milanese sarcophagus
as well. Preaching in Constantinople some twenty years later,
John Chrysostom also argued that these famous martyrs had
died not for the Jewish law but for Christ, since Christ gave the
law (Homily on Eleazar and the Seven Boys 4). Christian manuscripts reinforce the impression of gradual inclusion followed
general acclaim. Though referenced by third-century Christian
authors, the Maccabean books were not universally perceived as
sacred text: Codex Sinaiticus includes 1 and 4 Maccabees, but
not books 2 and 3, Codex Vaticanus omits the Maccabean books
entirely, and Athanasius’ famous Festal Letter 39 excludes them.
Nevertheless, the fifth-century majuscule Codex Alexandrinus
includes all four books, as do most Vulgate copies, including the
eighth-century Codex Amiantinus. The reception of the Maccabean martyrs as Christian heroes was therefore achieved rather
than given, with their Christian orthodoxy serving as a test case
for a newly Roman-Christian empire.
22-306 Stephen Geller, Jewish Theological Seminary of
America
Metaphor and Genre in the Book of Psalms
Benjamin Harshav’s approach to metaphor in his essay “Metaphor and Frames of Reference” offers possibilities of fruitful new
approaches to classic exegetical problems in the Book of Psalms.
For example, the discontinuity in Ps 23 between the metaphor
of the shepherd and sheep in the first part of the psalm and the
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image of banqueting in the second part may be an example of
Harshav’s “clash quality” of discontinuous metaphors, which
forces a metaphoric transfer of meaning from one to the other.
This approach would shed light on several key images of the
psalm. On a larger scale, the same phenomenon may occur also
in the juxtaposition of Ps 1, a “Torah” psalm, and Ps 2, a “royal”
psalm. This might open up the possibility that the Book of Psalms
may employ genre itself as a kind of metaphor in Harshav’s sense
of a “frame of reference.” Transfer and extension of meaning between different metaphors might help to explain several features
of the biblical Psalms that have concerned scholarship, such as
the role played by “enemies.” It may also give us a new way of approaching the problem of genre in the book as a whole.
22-306 Pierre Van Hecke, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Metaphors of Divine Harassment in Biblical Hebrew Poetry
Job repeatedly expresses his feeling of being permanently harassed by God: on the one hand, he feels chased (e.g. 13:25;
19:22), on the other, he has the impression of being continuously examined and scrutinized by God(e.g. 7:17–21). In the
present paper, the use of this metaphorical conceptualization of
divine involvement in the lives of human will be examined, both
in the book of Job and in the other poetic books of the Hebrew
Bible. Firstly, the instances of this conceptual metaphor in the
Hebrew Bible will be presented. Special attention will be paid to
a number of cases in which this—somewhat uncomfortable—
metaphor for God has been overlooked or wrongly understood
in commentaries and translations (e.g. Job 30:20). Secondly, the
mutual consistency and coherence of this group of metaphors
and their relation to other conceptualizations of human suffering in the Hebrew Bible will be examined. It will be shown that
these metaphors display a large degree of internal consistency
and witness to a common conceptualization of reality. On the
other hand, they are also highly coherent with other conceptualizations of human suffering in Biblical Hebrew Poetry.
22-306 Beth Stovell, McMaster Divinity College
God as Shepherd-King and the Restoration of Justice: Metaphors
of Shepherding and the Constellation of Kingship
God as shepherd-king is a central metaphor in Ezekiel 34, but
little work has been done in developing a linguistic and literary
analysis of the interweaving of metaphors surrounding God as
shepherd-king in this passage and the implications of this interweaving for our understanding of the purpose of this passage.
This paper will trace the repeated interweaving of these metaphors in Ezekiel 34 by applying a literary-linguistic approach to
metaphor that incorporates elements of the Conceptual Metaphor theory of George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, and Mark Turner
with elements of the systemic functional linguistics of M. A. K.
Halliday. This approach allows for the analysis of the metaphors
in Ezekiel 34 both at the conceptual level and the pragmatic level
within the larger discourse. This approach then uses the analysis from these linguistic approaches to evaluate the literary and
theological implications of these metaphors and their interrelationship. Based on these findings, this paper will assert that
the metaphor of “God as shepherd-king” must be understood
in light of the failing shepherds. Thus the metaphor of “God as
shepherd” is part of our understanding of the metaphor of “God
as king” and of “shepherd as king” in the Hebrew Bible and can
equally only fully be understood by developing an understanding of the metaphor of “the people of Israel as sheep.”
22-306 Brittany Kim, Wheaton College
The Hermeneutics of Biblical Metaphor: Israel as YHWH’s Children in Isaiah
Recent years have seen an increasing interest in metaphor among
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biblical scholars, partly in response to new theories offered in the
last few decades by linguists, philosophers, and even scientists.
While biblical scholars have effectively mined these theories for
helpful terminology and frameworks for understanding how
metaphors signify, such theories have failed to provide a clear
hermeneutic of metaphor. Thus this paper will advocate an approach to metaphor that draws primarily on the insights of Janet
Soskice, Paul Ricoeur, and George Lakoff and Mark Johnson and
then suggest a hermeneutic that incorporates the contributions
of speech-act theory. Following Ricoeur, since metaphor creates
a world and offers a means of “seeing as,” there is a certain degree
of openness in a metaphor, allowing for the continual discovery
of new connections, based largely on the reader’s experience. Yet
metaphor is also a tool employed by authors as a means of communicating something, and thus the ethical reader should seek
to understand what the author is conveying through it. Attending to the illocutionary force of the speech act and the literary
context both focuses and circumscribes legitimate interpretation of the metaphor. The illocutionary force and contextual
cues draw the reader’s attention to the most important aspects of
the metaphor for the author’s rhetorical argument. They also critique the metaphorical world created in the mind of the reader
wherever there is dissonance between that world and the details
of the text. Finally, this paper will apply this hermeneutic to a
test case—the metaphor of Israel as YHWH’s children (banim)
in Isaiah 1:2–4; 30:1–9; 43:6; 45:11; and 63:8.
22-306 Kevin Chau, University of Wisconsin-Madison
A Survey of Metonymy in Biblical Hebrew Poetry
While scholars have long noted metaphor’s importance for understanding biblical Hebrew poetry, they have devoted far less
research on metonymy, a linguistic relative of metaphor. As a
result, scholarship lacks consistent labels and definitions for metonymy and on occasion, blurs the important differences between
metaphor and metonymy. With a conceptual based approach to
metonymy, scholars can gain a richer knowledge of the poetics behind biblical poetry. This paper introduces the two main
forms of metonymy, taxonomic and partonomic, in which the
former is organized through paradigmatic relationships and the
latter by syntagmatic relationships. It surveys metonymy’s various poetic functions (semantic compaction, oblique reference,
and multivalency), demonstrates how metaphors and metonymys interact, and illustrates how accounting for metonymy can
aid in interpreting difficult poetic passages.
22-307 Rolf Jacobson, Luther Seminary
Theological Implications of Creation’s Praise of the Lord
The psalmic trope of creation’s praise, attested in Psalms 148:1–6
and 19:1–4, is foreign to modern sensibilities. The trope has
been drawn on especially as a source for ethical and ecological reflection, but wider theological implications have not often
been pursued. The present paper will press the theological implications of the trope of creation’s praise of the Lord, particularly
with regard to how we understand the creaturely condition, the
redemptive scope of God’s work, the nature of God’s reconciling
actions, and the Lord’s primary attribute of faithfulness.
22-307 David Rensberger, Interdenominational Theological Center
Surveying Creation’s Praise: Psalm 148 and Its Descendants
A number of texts in the Hebrew Bible, especially the enthronement psalms and Second Isaiah, speak of nonhuman creatures
praising God. Only Psalm 148, however, presents a survey of
creation, both heavenly and earthly, and exhorts all creatures to
offer praise. In this it stands at the head of a stream of Jewish and
Christian tradition that similarly invites a catalogue of creatures
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to praise the Creator. An early exemplar is found in the Song
of the Three Jews in the longer Greek text of Daniel (Prayer of
Azariah 35–65), which has been taken up in Christian liturgical tradition as the canticle “Benedicite omnia opera.” From a
much later time, and with a slightly different perspective (offering praise to God through or for all the creatures surveyed), is
Francis of Assisi’s famous “Canticle of the Creatures” or “Canticle of Brother Sun.” Hymn writers in modern times have taken
up the theme again, both by adapting the Song of the Three Jews
or Francis’ canticle or Psalm 148 itself, and through new works
based on Psalm 148 and other psalms. Drawing on the work of
T. Fretheim and on R. Whitekettle’s studies of taxonomic lists of
creatures in the Bible, this paper will trace hymnic surveys of the
creatures at praise from Psalm 148 forward. The direct literary
influence of Psalm 148 will be noted if it is found, but the study
will not be limited to Rezeptionsgeschichte. It will also reflect
on the significance for creation care of the human idea of other
creatures’ praise: what do we mean when we sing these songs,
and what does it imply for our relations with “all creatures of our
God and king”?
22-307 Esther M. Menn, Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago
Violent Waters: Reading the Psalms after Katrina
Destructive waves, storms, and floods in the Psalter take on
new force in light of recent natural disasters involving inundations, including Hurricane Katrina. This paper highlights the
infrequent but highly dramatic descriptions of overwhelming
waters in the Psalms. It explores where such imagery occurs in
the Psalter and how it is used within a variety of poetic contexts.
These fragmentary treatments of violent waters contribute theological perspectives that meet contemporary fears due to global
climate change, rising sea levels, and increasingly severe storms
and floods.
22-307 Arthur Walker-Jones, University of Winnipeg
The Lord, Who Makes Skies and Earth: The Importance of Creation in the Psalter
Biblical scholars have shown increasing interest in the topic of
creation in recent years, but most have focused on only a few
creation psalms, and seldom appreciated the extent and contribution of creation to the Psalter as a whole. Since the Psalter
moves from lament to praise, and creation is typical of praise,
there is a movement in the shape and message of the Psalter
toward an understanding of God as Creator. References to creation occur frequently and at key locations in the fourth and
fifth books of the Psalter. God is described repeatedly as Creator
and creation praises God in the enthronement psalms, which
are central to the message of the fourth book. The fifth book
then praises God as Creator repeatedly and at key locations.
This movement climaxes in the concluding hymns of the Psalter
where God is praised as Creator and there are lengthy calls for
all creation to praise the Creator. In this way, the Psalter leads
the reader from an understanding of humanity as alienated from
Creation toward integration into all creation’s praise of the Creator. Therefore, creation plays an important role in the canonical
shape and message of the Psalter.
22-308 Stephen C. Russell, University of California-Berkeley
The Imagined Landscape of the Bethel Sanctuary
Amos 7:9–17 describes a confrontation between Amaziah, ‘the
priest of Bethel’, and Amos the ‘seer’. The text portrays Bethel as
‘a king’s sanctuary and a palace/temple of a kingdom’. The story
envisions the sanctuary as a sacred space under the jurisdiction of king Jeroboam II of Israel, with a priesthood that has
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a special relationship to the Israelite monarchy. Commentators
have generally taken the text as accurately reflecting the milieu
of 8th century B.C.E. Israel, whether or not the events described
are historical. The textual unit, however, is later than the surrounding prophecies as suggested by shifts in genre, the use of
the late spelling with Shin for Isaac, and the incongruity between
its concerns and the focus of the prophecies elsewhere in the
book. As such, the text represents a Judahite imagining of the
social space of the Bethel sanctuary, an imagining that projects
Judahite notions of royal sacred geography unto the landscape
of Israelite Bethel. A similar situation pertains in 1 Kings 12–14,
where Judahite editors have misunderstood the relationship between Jeroboam I, Bethel’s sacred space and the Israelite tribal
collective. That text’s Judahite perspective is evident throughout,
and its connections to the Judahite editing of Kings are demonstrable. Outside of this later Judahite layer a different picture of
Israelite Bethel’s social space emerges in the Book of the Twelve.
Rather than being a royal sanctuary under the patronage and
jurisdiction of the Israelite king, Bethel appears to have been a
site of pilgrimage for the Israelite tribal collective. It functioned
as a preserver and disseminator of the exodus formulary. This
formulary suggests that Bethel’s sacred space served to assert
Israelite tribal collective identity, rather than the kind of royal
ideology associated with the house of David and the Jerusalem
sanctuary.
22-308 C. A. Strine, University of Oxford
An Ugaritic Background for the Divine Oath in the Book of
Amos?
The book of Amos, perhaps the earliest vestige of prophecy in
the Hebrew Bible, is constructed against the backdrop of religious
and social interaction between Israelite and Canaanite culture.
Amos’ use of marzeah festival imagery, which lies behind Amos
4:1–3 and 6:1–7, is an exemplar of this phenomenon. A feature
previously unconnected to this context is the divine oath (Amos
4:2, 6:8, 8:7). However, a survey of ancient Near Eastern textual
evidence suggests YHWH’s oaths in Amos can and should be
understood in connection with Ugaritic oath formulae. El’s oath
in the Ugaritic Tale of Aqhat (KTU 1.17–19) is the only oath
that uses precisely the formulation found in Amos. However,
this is the only external evidence for the connection. As such,
internal evidence corroborating this relationship is necessary. It
is found in the religious polemic with Canaanite Baalism that
Barstad previously detailed. More specifically, the components
of the marzeah festival that lie behind Amos 4 and 6 evince a
strong connection to the feasting theme of Aqhat. In light of this
evidence, it becomes clear that the divine oath is yet another polemical feature of Amos, used to announce YHWH’s judgment
that is motivated by foreign religious practices. Indeed, comparison shows that where El swore to give a blessing YHWH
swears to judge Israel. Understood in this context, it is evident
the divine oath heightens the force of these passages. Based upon
this enhanced understanding of the divine oath, one can begin
to posit further connections between Amos and Aqhat. For instance, the figures of Baal and Amos both intercede with God.
It is possible that this relationship, revealed by the divine oath,
may shed new light on how and why prophetic intercession, a
feature that appears unique to Israel amid the ancient Near East,
originally evolved.
22-308 Jason Radine, Moravian College
From Samaria to Jerusalem: The Changing Scope of the Book of
Amos in the Process of Textual Expansion
As the book of Amos grew over time, its geographical scope expanded along with the production of other texts in the eventual
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Book of the Twelve. The oldest core of the book was directed primarily at the issue of the destruction of the Northern Kingdom
of Israel. The book later received two significant expansions: the
“Oracles against the Nations” in the sixth century (1:3–2:5), and
its positive conclusion (9:11–15) in the Persian period. With
the former addition, the book’s area of concern expanded to
the Levant at large, including Judah, at around the same time
as the composition of most of Obadiah. In the latter addition, it
encompassed a cosmic perspective. This last development was
produced at approximately the same time as the composition of
the last chapters of the book of Zechariah. Through these expansions, the book of Amos was kept relevant to changing concerns
along with the composition and expansion of other texts in the
Book of the Twelve.
22-308 G. Andrew Tooze, Pfeiffer University
Where’s The Honeymoon? The Romanticization of Israel’s Wilderness Period in Hosea 2:16–17
In Hosea 2:16–17, Yahweh promises to return Israel to “the wilderness.” The goal of this return is to recreate the time following
the Exodus. According to these verses, the wilderness period
of Israel’s history was a “honeymoon,” a time when Israel was
completely faithful to God. However, this is a view of Israel’s
history that is not sustained by a reading of the wilderness narratives found in Exodus through Deuteronomy. According to
those narratives, the people of Israel complained to both Moses
and Yahweh from almost the moment they left Egypt and were
quick to abandon God’s commandments. In spite of his positive
view of the wilderness period in 2:16–17, even Hosea seems to
accept as accurate the depiction of the wilderness period as a
time of contention and unfaithfulness, as is shown in 11:1–2.
This paper will examine the two contradictory views of the wilderness period found in Hosea and attempt to reconcile Hosea’s
romanticized picture of Israel’s wilderness experience in 2:16–17
with the less flattering depictions of the wilderness period. In
this examination, special attention will be paid to the relationship of 2:16–17 to its larger context and the way interpretations
of these two verses have influenced the understanding of Hosea’s
relationship with Gomer.
22-308 R. Reed Lessing, Concordia Seminary-Clayton
The Big Bang in the Book of Amos and the Book of the Twelve
Big Bang ideas are employed in this paper to understand how
Amos 1:1b (“two years before the earthquake”) provides a theme
in the book of Amos as well as in the Book of the Twelve. The
convergence of the earthquake’s time, place, and magnitude,
along with Amos’ prediction of a divine shaking, combined to
create an expansion that can be traced in Joel, Nahum, Haggai,
and Zechariah. These books take up the lexeme r’sh and adapt
it, just like Amos did, to fit their times and their places. Sensitive
to intertextuality issues this study argues that, just like Amos,
these four prophets employ r’sh as a precursor to Yahweh’s act
of a new creation.
22-309 Gary A. Phillips, Wabash College
More Than the Jews...His Blood be Upon All the Children: Biblical Violence, Genocide, and Responsible Reading
Religion is implicated in genocidal violence against the innocent
in complicated ways. Biblical texts, from Genesis to the Gospels,
when employed in the service of nationalist or racial ideology,
have served as a source for justifying and scripting violence
against innocent men, women, and children. For example, the
notorious blood libel against the Jews in Matthew 27:25—”His
blood be upon us and our children”—has had a rich history of
inciting anti-Semitic mayhem with children receiving special
attention as the Nazi experience demonstrates. But such texts
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recognize no geographic, temporal, ethnic, ideological, or even
religious boundaries. Biblically inspired violence does not necessarily discriminate; it is an equal opportunity moment. The
genocide perpetrated against Kosovoan Muslims by Slobodan
Miloševic in July 1999 offers a case study of the way in which the
Matthean blood libel, along with the advent narrative of Herod’s
massacre of Jewish children, motivated the massacre of modern-day Muslims. The passion and advent narratives undergird
a 19th century Serbian epic poem, “The Mountain Wreath,” that
recounts the story of the loss of Serbian national and racial purity
to the Ottoman Turks in 1389. The Matthean story read through
past and present Serbian historical trauma recasts Muslims in
the role of the Jews as “Christ killers.” Matthean Christology
morphs into virulent Serbian “Christoslavism.” Biblical text,
nationalist literature, Serbian nationalist ideology ramify each
another providing validation and valorization of the murder of
children. This event and my presentation impose certain questions: How does religion go off the rails—or does it—in inciting
genocidal violence? How do we keep texts about biblical violence—or can we—from becoming violence-producing? How
do we understand our responsibility—or do we have one—to
intervene, interrupt biblically inspired suffering in order to protect all the children?
22-309 Jione Havea, Charles Sturt University
The Bible’s Stolen Generations
This presentation will begin with a critique of the stolen generation policy of Australia, for which the Prime Minister of
Australia finally apologized on Feb 13, 2008. This policy legalized the abduction of aboriginal children (many of whom were
fathered by white men) to mission homes where caretakers tried
to wash their blackness and aboriginal identities away, train
them as domestic helpers for white masters and mistresses, teach
them European protocols, so that they might integrate into the
minority but domineering white society. For aborigines, this was
“war cry” of the worse kind, aggravated by the fact that it was
waged by pale faces similar to those who brought the bible. In
this regard, the bible has much to do with the “war” against the
stolen generation (a view that George Morant’s painting titled
The Abduction emphasizes). With this critical attitude toward
the bible, I will revisit some of the biblical stories in which “children of the land” are stolen and com-missioned in the interests
of the “chosen generation.” There is a long list of the bible’s stolen
generation but for this presentation, I will focus on the Egyptian
children in Exod 12:29–36 and the Moabite daughters in Num
25. The biblical text does not find the violation of both groups
problematic, maybe because they were non-Israelites, and most
interpreters turn a blind eye toward them, probably because they
were younger and female (in the Numbers story) also. From the
world of the stolen generation, who were “first born” of Australia, I will share some of the local insights over these stories.
22-309 David A. Bosworth, Catholic University of America
Too Young to Kill: Jether, David, and Child Soldiers
In Judges 8:20, Gideon’s firstborn son Jether is afraid to kill because he is only a boy (na’ar). The paper will explore how and
why the text presents this brief notice involving Jether and his
refusal to kill and compare this episode to David’s eagerness to
kill Goliath, although David is also a boy (na’ar). The analysis
will draw on wider information about the roles of children in
ancient militaries and correlate this data with the modern experience of child soldiers. It will have particular focus on the
cultural significance of the act of killing and the psychological
consequences of killing for child soldiers.
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22-309 Stewart Moore, Yale University
Can a Child Speak? David’s Dispatches from the Battle Zone
A search for children in the Bible reveals several different images
of children used by adult biblical authors, but very little that gives
insight into a child’s actual experience. The story of David and
Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 would seem to be an exception: in this
chapter a child speaks in his own right. However, a critical piece
of information for understanding David’s perspective is missing:
his age. The difference in development and socialization among
a 7–year-old, an 11–year-old, and a 15–year old are impossible
to set aside, but no information in the text will permit a final
decision. This aporia is rendered critical by the story’s setting in
a battle zone otherwise populated by heavily-armed adults. In
the midst of the brutality of war, does the undecidability of the
child-soldier David render him mute, a mere tool in an adult’s
rhetorical plan? In this paper, we read 1 Samuel 17 from multiple
developmental perspectives, from latency through adolescence,
in conjunction with images from modern children’s bibles which
illustrate a spectrum of Davids. We suggest that the undecidability of David’s age provides this text an opportunity to give voice
to many children, rather than a single “historical” one. These
multiple children are then freed from pietistic univocality to
speak of the terrible effects of this war on their bodies and souls.
As we argue, when David speaks, he speaks of terror, cruelty,
and irresponsibility, yet also of faith and courage, in order to tell
a very grim fairy tale indeed.
22-309 Julie Faith Parker, Yale University
The Stunning Wartime Sacrifice of 2 Kings 3:26–27
The two little verses of 2 Kgs 3:26–27 pose two large theological conundrums. First, child sacrifice, usually reviled in Kings,
is here displayed as efficacious. Second, a foreign deity (the
Moabite god, Kemosh) appears to act in battle as his wrath
drives the Israelites to retreat. While scholars occasionally note
the first point and fiercely debate the second, few turn their attention to the child in this scene. This paper discusses the power
of the King Mesha’s son as he is sacrificed as a burnt offering
on the wall of Kir-hareseth. Despite his young age and brief appearance, the Moabite prince is the hinge upon which the story
turns. I will show how this boy finds company with child soldiers,
whose presence is obliquely noted in v. 21, as well as with other
young characters in the wider biblical corpus (notably Isaac and
Jephthah’s daughter). I will also discuss how the witness of his
life accomplishes what seven hundred soldiers cannot (v. 26)
in driving away the enemy. Ultimately, this paper suggests that
Mesha’s son is a strikingly significant character who expands our
understanding of gods and sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible. This
young prince enters the text just to leave it but, as he goes up in
smoke, he leaves theological questions smoldering.
22-310 Janet Elizabeth Spittler, Texas Christian University
Animals in the Acts of Andrew: One of These Acts is not Like the
Others
Animals play prominent roles in each of the five major apocryphal acts of the apostles. In the Acts of John, Acts of Peter, Acts
of Paul and Acts of Thomas, animals are presented conspicuously positively: bedbugs obey John, a talking dog serves as Peter’s
messenger, a lion requests baptism from Paul, and a wild ass assists Thomas in an exorcism. In the Acts of Andrew, the situation
is substantially different. Fewer animals appear as actors in this
narrative; when they are present, they are ravenous flesh-eaters.
Animals do, however, appear in multiple metaphors and similes,
but—in stark contrast to the other major apocryphal acts—they
are invoked in almost exclusively negative terms to characterize
the narrative’s villains. In this paper I will examine the use of
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animals in metaphors and similes in the Acts of Andrew, paying careful attention to the variation and amplification of these
literary figures in later versions of Andrew’s perigrinations and
martyrdom, particularly the Narratio. I will conclude by offering
some suggestions as to why the Acts of Andrew differs so substantially from the other apocryphal acts in this respect.
22-310 Tuomas Rasimus, University of Helsinki and Université Laval
Jesus the Animal: Textual Evidence from Late Antiquity
Theriomorphic presentation of Jesus was surprisingly common in late antiquity. Apart from familiar images such as the
lamb of God and the fish symbol (the ichthys), Christians and
pagans presented Jesus, for example, as a donkey, lion, rooster,
heifer, snake and an eagle. Such animal imagery offers important windows to the underlying social reality behind texts that
can give us new information about various social settings of
early Christianity in the Roman Empire. This paper offers first,
an overall survey of the animal imagery attached to Jesus that
occurs in textual sources from the first four centuries CE; and
second, a case study on Jesus as an eagle in the Classic/Sethian
Gnostic Apocryphon of John. After relevant ancient parallels of
eagle symbolism (especially Roman and Johannine) have been
studied, the Apocryphon of John passage in question is then
analyzed from various view-points, with the help of specific
narrative, rhetorical, cognitive, and sociological approaches.
New information can be obtained regarding the Apocryphon of
John’s relationship to the Johannine writings in the New Testament; the author’s attitude towards the Roman Empire; and the
development of Christian rituals.
22-310 William “Chip” Gruen, Muhlenberg College
Domesticating Animal Symbolism: The Place of Donkeys in the
Acts of Thomas
The Acts of Thomas relates two stories of the apostle’s interactions
with donkeys. These donkeys, however, are not solely beasts of
burden, but subjects in the narrative in their own right, interacting and speaking with Thomas and others. Modern interpreters
often contextualize the donkey traditions in the Acts of Thomas
in the light of the story of Balaam’s Ass from the Hebrew Scriptures or the Messianic symbolism that marks Jesus’ entry into
Jerusalem in various gospel traditions. However, this paper contends that other symbolic meanings from the wider Hellenistic
world might also be at work in the Acts of Thomas, including
associations with the Greek Dionysus and the Egyptian Seth.
With these other possible contexts in mind, it becomes possible
to imagine that Thomas’ interactions with the donkeys serve
multiple purposes in the narrative. On the surface, the animals
provide an entertaining element to the trajectory of the story.
However, they may also serve as a metaphor for interactions
between diverse Christian communities and theologies in antiquity. Therefore, the literal and symbolic place of the donkeys
in the narrative may be read as a commentary on one ancient
community’s views of intersectarian interactions.
22-310 Thomas J. Kraus, Willibald Gluck Gymnasium
“… And Made Wild Beasts and Serpents and Birds” (Sibylline
Oracles 3.28): Animals in the Creation Passages of the Oracula
Sibyllina
Several passages in the Oracula Sibyllina focus on Creator and
Creation. It is just natural that, among other elements, animals
play a significant role in these contexts. According to the complex history or the Or.Sib. and its individual books there are
certain lines of differences or even development in the depiction
of Creator and Creation. This paper focuses on books three and
eight and tries to shed light on the specific role animals play in
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the various contexts. Other relevant passages of the Or.Sib. will
be addressed as reference texts to provide profound insights into
the world of a fascinating collection of pseudo-oracles.
22-310 Stephen J. Davis, Yale University
Bird Watching: A Play on Divine Childhood in the Infancy
Gospels
One of the most well-known stories from the Infancy Gospels
is that of Jesus turning clay figures of birds into live sparrows.
In addition to the early Greek Infancy Gospel of Thomas, it
also appears in the Latin Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew as well as
in related Syriac, Arabic, and Armenian traditions about Jesus’
youth. In ancient art, birds were a common visual motif, one
closely associated with children but also with virility and adult
male sexuality. Children in the Graeco-Roman world played
with toys modeled after birds and kept birds as pets, while birds
were also used as technological props for negotiating encounters with the divine in magical spells and in oracular practice.
By viewing the various versions of this infancy story in relation
to such cultural practices, I will argue that, for ancient readers,
Jesus’ miracle with the birds was designed to underscore simultaneously his experience of a typical human childhood and his
embodiment of (a particularly male) divine potency.
22-312 Fritz Graf, Ohio State University
Divinatory Pneuma Between Spirituality and Chemistry
Both pagan and especially Christian sources claimed that the
Pythia in Delphi received her divinatory inspiration through
a material pneuma, a gaseous exhalation from a chasm in the
ground. Archaeological research of the past 100 years firmly
helped to reject such a materialist approach. Recent geological
finds, however, have brought this explanation of Delphic divination to the foreground again, and the media eagerly have taken
it up. My paper assesses this new development and tries to find
its way through the conflicting claims of spiritual and material
causes for the Pythia’s state of mind.
22-312 John R. Levison, Seattle Pacific University
Assessing the Origins of Modern Pneumatology: The Life and
Legacy of Hermann Gunkel
Precisely one hundred years ago, in 1909, Hermann Gunkel authorized the publication of the third edition of his explosive little
book-what he called his Büchlein-which he had first published
in 1888 under the title, Die Wirkungen des heiligen Geistes
nach der populären Anschauung der apostolischen Zeit und
der Lehre des Apostels Paulus. By intertwining rich biographical detail with scholarly analysis, this paper will explore and
expose the one-hundred-year-old legacy of Hermann Gunkel’s
Büchlein. (1) The paper will showcase the salient and utterly
fresh contributions Gunkel made to the study of early Christian pneumatology-contributions which toppled longstanding
perspectives on the spirit and set an agenda which continues
unabated a century later. (2) The paper will go well beyond an
uncritical review of Gunkel’s remarkable prescience. It will chart
as well some of the errant and egregious consequences his study
had upon the scholarly study of pneumatology in the twentieth
century. (3) The paper will also chart a way forward that will
require of its proponents the sort of brazen disregard for uncritically accepted points of view that Gunkel exhibited. This fresh
directive for the study of pneuma in the twenty-first century demands a drastic revision of Gunkel’s legacy, even as his Büchlein
brought about a drastic and different direction in the study of
early Christian pneumatology.
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22-312 Christopher Mount, DePaul University
The Imperial Self: Spirit Possession and Apotheosis in the Religion
of Paul
Discourse about spirit possession in early Christianity constructed subjectivities—representations of the self—to locate
participants of early Christ cults in relation to the Roman Empire. Constructions of the self are political, social, economic.
This paper will examine (1) how Paul used a discourse about
possession by Jesus and rituals of apotheosis to create a subjectivity for believers inhabiting a mythic and ritual world of the
crucified and resurrected Christ in relation to the political, social, and economic world of the Roman Empire, and (2) how this
construction of self was transformed into the imperial subjectivity of the Paul of Acts who appeals to the emperor as judge of
Christians.
22-312 Paul A. Holloway, University of Glasgow
Mittere Commendationem Aliquam Sui: Pneuma and Gospel in
Paul’s Letter to the Romans
Paul wrote his famous Letter to the Romans in an attempt to
commend himself and his gospel to the Roman Christ believers, his ultimate objective being to win their backing for his
projected mission to Spain. To this end he presents “my gospel”
(2:16) as a new “type of teaching” (6:17), which unlike Torah
does not simply explicate the righteousness of God but actually
empowers Christ believers to live righteously. Indeed, just as in
chapter 1 Paul claims that idolatrous gentiles have been “handed
over” to sin, so in chapters 5–8 Paul claims that Christ believers
are by the fact of their conversion “handed over” as it were to
his gospel, which then “enslaves” them to righteousness (6:17
and passim). Central to this enslaving unto righteousness is the
activity of the divine pneuma. In this paper I explore the role of
the pneuma in Paul’s construction of his gospel (and of himself
as a spiritual adept; 1:11; 15;16, 19) in Romans. I claim that Paul
structures his letter to the Romans to make precisely this point,
and that this can be seen, among other means, by comparing the
structure of Paul’s presentation of his gospel in Romans with his
earlier letter to the Galatians.
22-313 John W. Herbst, Union Theological Seminary and
Presbyterian School of Christian Education
No Place for a King: The Monarch as Judge in the Deuteronomistic History
Deuteronomy’s view of kingship as displayed in “The Laws Regulating Officials” (Deut 16:18–18:22) features the loss of the king’s
role as judge of last resort. Where ancient near eastern monarchs had customarily been expected to serve as judge-in-chief,
Deuteronomy gives this role to a judge and priests stationed
in Jerusalem (17:8–9). This reassignment significantly reduces
the power and prestige of the monarchy. The Deuteronomistic
History offers several examples of the King serving as judge, including kings David (2 Sam 12, 14), Solomon (1 Kings 3), and,
prospectively, Absalom (2 Sam 15). While some argue that these
episodes serve to glorify the monarchy, a careful look at these
passages shows that they tend to put the king in question in a
bad light. The 2 Samuel passages involving David reveal a king
who is too easily gullible; Absalom’s promise to grant “justice” is
part of his grab for the throne, and while Solomon’s judgment
of the two prostitutes wins the people’s approval (always suspect in the Deuteronomistic History!), on reflection, his reckless
endangerment of an infant does not mark him as a wise judge.
David’s juridical activity in fact serves to reveal his poor judgment in general, revealed a number of times through the course
of the Succession Narrative. And Solomon’s desire to act as a
judge, exemplified by his enslavement of his own people for the
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service of building the “House of the Forest of Lebanon” as a site
for judging cases (1 Kings 7), becomes emblematic of his desire
for self-exaltation. In the David and Solomon stories, therefore,
the Deuteronomistic Historian employs each king’s determination to act as judge, contrary to the principles laid out in Deut
17:8–20, as a contributing factor toward his ultimately negative
evaluations of Kings David and Solomon.
22-313 Daniel Pioske, Princeton Theological Seminary
2 Samuel 23:8–39 and the Question of Genre: Heroes, Lists, and
Bakhtin
My paper will focus its attention on the passage concerning
David’s gibborîm in 2 Sam 23:8–39, a curious text comprised of
interwoven name-lists and anecdotes that falls within a disparate collection of chapters that ends the book of 2 Samuel. Being
situated neither chronologically within the book of 2 Samuel
(its lists and stories retain names and fragments from earlier in
David’s career) nor linked thematically with the material that immediately precedes and follows it, the story of David’s warriors is
typical of the enigmatic texts included within the so-called appendix to Samuel. The question at the heart of my investigation
is one of genre: how does one characterize the genre of a text
that moves effortlessly between a standard method of ancient
Near Eastern historiography—the name-list—while, in the same
breath, surrounds these lists with tales that beckon to the reader
and delight with the fantastic? My focus in this study of genre,
guided by the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, will be twofold: first, it
will be my intention to illustrate that the story of David’s Warriors, rather than a sui generis, both participates in conventional
genres of ancient Near Eastern historiography while at the same
time expanding and transforming these generic traditions. The
most accurate understanding of the genre of David’s Warriors,
my argument will run, is one of commemoration or zikkarôn, a
genre whose evocation of stories and names is motivated by the
desire “to remember.” Second, based on this appeal to a genre of
commemoration, I will argue that attentiveness to the features
and characteristics of this genre will assist the process of reading
and interpreting this uncommon passage—and in understanding similar narratives within the Deuteronomistic History as
well.
22-313 Benjamin D. Thomas, University of Chicago
The Oracles against the Northern Dynasts in Kings and the
Theory of the Deuteronomistic History
The paper discusses the passages of Kings containing the oracles
leveled against the northern kingdom. Since the Naboth-episode
of 1 Kgs. 21 is an especially difficult passage, it pays special attention to the complexities of its narrative. In addition, the paper
discusses the role of the prophecy-fulfillment schema concerning the northern oracles as they relate to the broader theory of
the Deuteronomistic History (= DH). It is argued that the fall
of the northern houses serves as an adumbration of the southern kingdom’s demise. Thus, the study rejects the theories of DH
purported by either the Cross or Smend schools, accepting rather something close to Noth’s original hypothesis of DH, namely,
that the work, in large part, emanated from a singular literary
provenance in the exilic period.
22-313 Song-Mi Suzie Park, Harvard University
Mimicry of Self and Other: The Speech of the Rabshaqeh in 2
Kings 18
The intricate knowledge of the Rabshaqeh, a representative of
the Assyrian king, of Judah’s language and theology in the story of the Assyrian attack of Jerusalem in 2 Kings 18 has struck
many scholars as both mysterious and disconcerting. How does
the Rabshaqeh know so much about Judah and why does he
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sound like a Judahite? The paper will argue that the Rabshaqeh
speech contains various levels of imitation: As noted by scholars,
the Rabshaqeh imitates a Judean. However, a Judahite writer,
in portraying the figure of the Rabshaqeh, also literarily mimics an Assyrian. The Rabshaqeh, in other words, is pictured as
a strange hybrid—someone who sounds like both an Israelite
and an Assyrian. Using post-colonial theories on mimicry, I will
argue that these various levels of mirroring and imitation function in complex ways to undermine the threat posed by Assyria
to Judah’s survival and identity.
22-313 Rannfrid Irene Thelle, Friends University
Is Deuteronomy 12 Central to Josiah?
For many years the story of King Josiah’s “reform” in 2 Kings 23
has been understood in terms of the centralization principle expressed in Deuteronomy 12, if not as the narrative counterpart
to that legal text. For proponents of the so-called “double redaction” theory concerning the genesis of the Deuteronomistic
History, the link between these two texts is fundamental. According to this scholarly consensus, the book found in 2 Kings
22 is some form of Deuteronomy, and chap. 23 reports how
Josiah’s reform implemented the Deuteronomistic demand for
cultic centralization. Although this understanding has been criticized periodically, it is surprisingly resilient and has become all
but axiomatic. In this paper I will join those who challenge this
understanding of the centralization law and its relation to the
account of Josiah’s cultic activities. One familiar problem is the
fact that the bamot, so crucial in the cultic polemics of Kings, are
never mentioned in Deuteronomy. Further, if we do not begin
with the assumption that the book found in 2 Kings 22 is some
form of Deuteronomy, it becomes clear that there is little in 2
Kings 23 which justifies labelling the reforms as Deuteronomistic. In fact, focusing on the direction of movement in Josiah’s
reform actions in 2 Kgs 23:4–20 reveals that what is taking place
is actually more a centrifugal movement of cultic purging and
defilement, rather than a centralizing reform. Whereas Deuteronomy 12 features movement from the surrounding periphery
to the “place that YHWH will choose,” 2 Kings 23 exhibits mainly
the removal of objects and personnel from the house of YHWH
out to surrounding areas, and the destruction and defilement of
cultic places. I will explore this contrast in the main portion of
the paper, and assess what these findings might mean for a renewed understanding of the relationship between Deuteronomy
and Kings.
22-314 Benjamin White, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Disputing the Dispute: Problems in the Modern Discourse on
Paul vs. “Paul”
Beginning with F.C. Baur, a prevailing discourse has developed
within Pauline studies that attempts to separate the “real” Paul
(seven undisputed letters) from the “Pauline tradition” (disputed Paulines). Separating these texts helps to resolve the problem
of conflicting traditions in the Pauline letter corpus as well as
to fill a historical void between Paul’s own life and his legacy
in the second century. The “Disputed Paulines” are then evaluated chiefly on how close or distant they are from the “historical
Paul.” This paper will call for a re-examination of the prevailing
discourse from four angles. First, methodological problems have
existed from the beginning. Except for Bruno Bauer, certain preferred texts have never been subjected to the rigorous scrutiny
that is the norm for others. Second, this discourse undergirds
certain triumphalist narratives about the history of early Christianity. The “real” Paul was Protestant, charismatic, dialogical,
and liberal. The later Pauline “tradition” was proto-Catholic,
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rigid and conservative. These ideological investments that both
birthed the dominant discourse (Baur) and continue to nourish it produced the methodological problems. Third, the entire
historical process whereby Pauline letters were written, transmitted, collected and published poses problems for the kind of
access scholars would like to have to an unfiltered or un-traditioned Paul. Fourth, rhetorical criticism allows us to talk about
the “Paul” of Romans and Galatians in the same way that we
talk about the “Paul” of the Pastorals. While many scholars have
questioned bits and pieces of the dominant narrative in order to
restore authenticity to certain texts, my own project moves in
the opposite direction. I suggest that we have no methodologically sound way of accessing the “real” Paul. Rather, we should
view the whole lot as Pauline “tradition”: various diverse images
of Paul mediated to us through historically conditioned texts
and manuscripts.
22-314 Timothy Swinson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School
“Pistos ho logos”: An Alternative Approach
This paper offers a literary analysis of the elliptical clause “pistos
ho logos” (“the word is faithful”) that appears five times in the
Pastoral Epistles. Nearly every modern study of this clause operates from the premise that each instance of “pistos ho logos”
must refer to a distinct “saying” that occurs in the immediate
context, either preceding or following the clause in question.
Consequently, the referent of “ho logos” changes with each occurrence, and interpreters often must disregard the syntax of the
immediate literary context so as to accommodate their construals, while the clause itself conveys no consistent message. As an
alternative to the majority opinion in its various presentations,
it will be argued in this paper that in the initial occurrence of
“pistos ho logos,” as found in 1 Tim 1:15, the writer specifies the
content of the faithful word, namely, that “Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners.” It will be argued further that, from
that point on in 1 Tim (3:1, 4:9), the audience is expected to
understand “pistos ho logos” as a recollection and reminder of
that fundamental expression of the apostolic gospel. These recollections arise at strategic points in the letter and serve to draw
the reader back to the critical essence of the message that must
be guarded so carefully. Similarly, while the clause occurs only
once each in 2 Tim (2:11) and Titus (3:8), the immediate context of each occurrence provides sufficient subject development
and syntactical data that the reader will associate the faithful
word with that same apostolic proclamation, though in different form.
22-314 Harry O. Maier, Vancouver School of Theology
Pictures of Harmony: Iconography, Imperial Concord, Imperial
Wives, and Ecclesial Order in the Pastoral Epistles
This paper relates the imperial cult and the civic ideals associated with it to the treatment of women in the Pastorals. It builds
on recent work (D’Angelo, Balch, MacDonald, Osiek, Winter)
demonstrating the degree to which the Pastorals’ Household
Codes reflect Greco-Roman domestic ideals. It extends these
arguments by showing how the Pastorals’ representations of
ecclesial and domestic harmony deploy language characteristic
of imperial rhetorical treatments of the theme, Concord, and its
opposite, Strife. Comparison with the Pastorals of roughly contemporary treatments by Dio Chrysostom, Aelius Aristides, and
Plutarch of homonoia and eris reveal the degree to which the
letters draw on the language and metaphors that celebrate civic
order and censure discord. The Pastorals’ ideal audience belongs
to well-ordered households and display virtues that promote
concord, with each member regulated in behaviour and speech.
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In contrast, its opponents reveal the vices characteristic of civic
strife and faction. Imperial titles and language to describe Jesus are evidence of the use of these topoi, and together with
the Pastorals’ commandments to pray for and be submissive to
imperial rulers, combine to urge a civic Christian identity that
encouraged the letters’ audience to participate in the renewal of
civic life characteristic of the Julio-Claudian, Flavian, and Trajanic periods. Gender performances that typify political concord
promote that renewal. In their representations of women in concord and strife the Pastorals offer a picture of the imperial wife
idealized in imperial iconography. The letters’ ideals concerning
women and wives are at home in a civic world bathed in political
imagery celebrating the good emperor’s household and wife as
emblematic of imperial concord. Like the imagery celebrating
the imperial family around them, the Pastorals’ ideal women are
pictures of harmony.
22-314 Marianne Bjelland Kartzow, University of Oslo
The Stereotype of Gossip in the Pastorals and Luke 18
The frequent comments about gossip in the Pastoral Epistles are
noteworthy. On several occasions it is argued that various categories of women have to avoid gossip and slander, among them
deaconesses, widows and female elders. «Old wives’ tales» are
associated with heresy, contrasted to godliness in which one had
to train oneself. A recent overview of ancient texts dealing with
gossip shows that gossip was typical and natural for all women
and risky for elite men who constantly had to defend their masculinity. If gossip was considered feminine speech, the parable
of the widow and the judge in Luke 18:1–8 is perhaps dependent
on similar gender logic as the Pastorals. A certain judge that
neither fears God nor respects people is repeatedly confronted
by a widow who requires justice against her opponent. Lukan
scholarship lacks a reasonable explanation to how the widow, a
supposedly weak female person, manages to change the mind
of a representative for the male elite. After hesitating for a long
time, he accepts her wishes because he fears he will «end with a
black eye.» This puzzling term may indicate that he is afraid she
shall attach him by running into his eye or face, or otherwise
treat him badly. A possible, but less influential interpretation is
that he fears she will spread slander or gossip about him. This
paper will use as interpretative keys insights from the multi disciplinary field of gossip and other ancient texts to trace parallel
power structures related to gossip and gender in the Pastorals
and Luke 18. The judge changed his mind because he feared that
the widow’s naturally given ability to slander and gossip could
hurt his reputation. The women of the Pastorals were warned
against gossip and slander since such expressions of female power represented a threat to the pastoral order.
22-315 April D. Deconick, Rice University
Star Gates and Heavenly Places: What Were the Gnostics Doing?
This paper will revisit the role that astrology played among ancient Gnostics, including the Basilidians,Ophians, Sethians and
Naassenes. Far from having a peripheral role, the craft of ancient
Egyptian and Greco-Roman astrology substantially undergirded these Gnostic systems. These Gnostic communities, like
their Hermetic neighbors, used their knowledge of the stars to
escape their tyranny and ascend on high. They created complex
initiation ceremonies and utilized magic to move through the
heavens and triumph over the archons. Astrology is the key to
reconstructing what the Gnostics were doing.
22-315 Grant Adamson, Rice University
Fate Indelible: The Gospel of Judas as Horoscope
By observing and calculating the position of the stars, ancient
astrologers concerned themselves not only with predicting but
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also explaining ex post facto the time and manner of a native’s
death. Cases of violent death were of particular interest. Those
astrologers who were more magically inclined sought to cheat
death by calling down a god to cast their horoscope for them
and erase their foul fate. Writing in the second century CE, the
author of the Gospel of Judas drew on these traditions and practices in order to explain the fate of the already infamous betrayer
who had facilitated the crucifixion and died violently himself.
Jesus speaks as an astrologer in the Gospel of Judas, using technical astrological terms, and his predictions for Judas are grim.
Judas asks Jesus for salvation, but the god explains that his fate
is indelible.
22-315 Franklin Trammell, Rice University
The Tower as Divine Body: Visions and Theurgy in the Shepherd
of Hermas
Behind some of the visions and teachings in the Shepherd of
Hermas lies the notion of a direct correspondence between the
heart of the righteous and the androgynous divine body. This
body is presented by Hermas as a sevenfold Tower that is in
the process of being (re)built by (re)incorporating the feminine
Ecclesia. Members of the Ecclesia, who are pure of heart, are
clothed with twelve virgins and receive the seal of the Son of
God, representing the female and male aspects of the body. They
then affect the reintegration of this female aspect, being built
into the eschatological Tower as a part of her. Hermas’ law of
purity therefore plays an incredibly important theurgic role. In
identifying the Tower with the Ecclesia, itself implicitly assimilated in the text to Sophia, the author portrays those who do not
sin after baptism as participating in the (re)unification of preexistent Wisdom. It is this process along with elements related to
it that shares affinities with later Jewish mystical sources.
22-315 Jonathan Knight, Katie Wheeler Research Trust/
York St John University, UK
The use of Jewish and other Mystical Traditions in the Ascension
of Isaiah
The Ascension of Isaiah is an important text because it is our
earliest non-canonical Christian apocalypse. I date in the decade 110–120 CE, so that its author potentially knows earlier
Christian literature, although he continues to rely on the oral
tradition that surfaces also in Matthew’s Gospel. The text sheds
light on the development of early Christian mysticism in the period roughly between the last of the New Testament documents
and the rise of the Gnostic literature. My paper will have the
following sections: 1. Brief introduction to the text; its date and
content 2. A survey of the development of Jewish throne-mysticism in the Ascension of Isaiah 3. A survey of the probable
reworking of earlier christological motifs there 4. An investigation of the mystical significance of the seven-storied cosmology
5. An investigation into the use of scripture, both Jewish and
Christian writings, in the formation of the work’s mystical perspective.
22-316 Andrew Davies, Mattersey Hall
Haggai and the Ethics of Rebuilding
Using the resistant reader-response approach proposed by my
Double Standards in Isaiah (Brill, 2000), this paper will consider
the ethical ideologies that are stated, implied and assumed in
the book of Haggai, illustrating that they pose a number of challenges, and ultimately at their heart a fundamental problem in
their presentation of the Deity.
22-316 Gerbern S. Oegema, McGill University
Ethics in the Pseudepigrapha
The topic “Ethics in the Pseudepigrapha” cannot be dealt with in
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the same way as ethics in the Hebrew Bible or in the New Testament, as the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha neither represent
the foundational writings of a specific religious group or sociological movement nor originate from the same geographical area
or period in history. Instead, they come to us from different life
settings and represent many different, often unknown, groups
and socio-religious traditions in Early Judaism and Early Christianity (300 B.C.E. to 200 C.E.). It can, therefore, be said that the
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Second Temple period
represent a whole range of traditions as well as a great variety
and diversity among these traditions: Apocalyptic, “Hellenistic”
Jewish, Nationalistic Jewish, Essene, Pharisaic/early rabbinic,
and sectarian (Zealot, Gnostic, Christian). This paper will deal
with the question of how these non-canonical writings treat ethics, both theologically, morally as well as ethically. In order to do
so, it wants to offer a brief taxonomy of the main themes of these
writings, as far as they relate to ethical questions, namely: 1) The
Torah and wisdom; 2) Divine revelation and intervention; 3)
The origin of and ways to deal with evil; 4) Human responsibility and one’s role in society; and 5) The love command and the
“Golden Rule.”
22-316 Hans Leander, University of Gothenburg
The returning Jesus as a moral problem
In postcolonial biblical criticism, Mark’s relation to Roman power has been a debated topic. Among others, Stephen Moore and
Benny Tat-siong Liew have argued that Mark in different ways
reproduces a colonial ideology. This is seen most clearly, they
argue, in the Markan parousia and its depictions of the coming
(popularly spoken of as “a return”) of the Son of Man as waging absolute and tyrannical authority. This paper discusses the
moral problem of the returning Jesus and attempts to find a way
through the interpretative conundrums. Further, these interpretations are located in another return–a reaching back to a moral
critique that was part of the forming of modern Biblical studies
in its beginning in the late seventeenth century.
22-318 Ulrich Berges, University of Muenster
“You are My Witnesses and My Servant” (Isaiah 43:10): Exile
and the Identity of the Servant.
The identity of the suffering servant figure in Deutero-Isaiah remains a matter for debate. This paper explores the role played by
the exile in finding a solution to this important question.
22-318 Corinna Körting, MF Norwegian School of Theology
The Cultic Dimension of Prophecy in the Book of Ezekiel
Research has been clear for a long time about the connections of
the Book of Ezekiel with the priestly cult. Priestly and prophetic
language and concepts are combined. Any attempt to explain
this by biographical means, pointing to Ezekiel as priest and
prophet, must fail if one takes research on the redaction history
of the book seriously. Therefore other questions have to be posed:
What is reached in combining different concepts? And: Can a
certain cult language be a substitution for the temple cult?
22-318 Konrad Schmid, University of Zurich
Nebuchadnezzar, the End of Davidic Rule, and the Exile in the
Book of Jeremiah
According to Jer 36:30, there will be no Davidic king after Jehojakim. Some scholars have evaluated this statement which is
historically incorrect in order to date Jeremiah 36: the text reflects the time of Jehojakim. However, given the highly learned
character of Jeremiah 36 (cf., e.g., the inner-biblical allusions to
2Kings 22), this option is not very likely. This paper will offer
an alternate explanation: Jeremiah 36 links the end of legitimate
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Davidic rule to the ascension of Nebuchadnezzar to the Babylonian throne in the 4th year of Jehojakim, i.e. 605 B.C.E. (cf. Jer
36:1 and Jer 25:1). Jeremiah 36, maybe for the first time in the
Hebrew Bible, construes a universal historical connection between the Davidic and Babylonian kingdoms, thus interpreting
the Exile as a planned element in God’s rule over history and
adding an exact chronological scheme to that notion. Traces of
this universal historical theory can also be found elsewhere in
the book of Jeremiah.
22-318 Else K. Holt, University of Aarhus
Jeremiah the Lamenter
The Dutch painter Rembrandt’s painting of Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem genially illustrates not only
the emotional state of parts of the Book of Jeremiah itself (e.g.
the Confessions) but also the feelings displayed in the Book of
Lamentations. This is no wonder since Rembrandt’s painting
is in accordance with the traditional view that Jeremiah was
the author of Lamentations. But his picture also helps us to
aknowledge the reality of and the connection between the emotions articulated in the two books and the social and political
conditions of post-fall Judaism. My presentation aims at showing the interrelatedness between Jeremiah, Lamentations and
Rembrandt’s picture, urging that reading the picture adds to the
understanding of reading the texts intertextually.
22-318 Elie Assis, Bar Ilan University
Temple Substitutes in Exile
The life in exile, without the Jerusalem temple or political independence required great spiritual innovation and sophisticated
theological explanations in order to continue to observe the old
traditions. Prophets such as second Isaiah and Ezekiel dealt with
these issues. The most common approach was the promise of
near redemption. Ezekiel attempted to establish the theology of
divine presence in exile through the image of the mobile chariot
in Ezek 1, and by assuring them a reduced presence among them
in exile (Ezekiel 11:16). Psalms 127 and 133 offer temporary substitutes for the living in Judah in the vicinity of Jerusalem, until
the Temple was rebuilt. In Psalm 127 the psalmist suggests that
instead of building the Temple the people should invest their energies in the developing and building the family unit, and raising
children while they are young, for the future of the nation. Psalm
127 places family values as a temporary substitute for the Temple
in its absence. As a substitute for living in Judah in the vicinity of
Jerusalem and the Temple, the psalmist, in Psalm 133, suggests
that those living in exile band together as a group and to enjoy
living together as a community. Thus values of family and community were suggested by these psalms as a temporal alternative
for the devastated Temple, whose rebuilding the people were still
impatiently waiting for. These values were adopted fully by the
people, those that returned to Yehud were reluctant to rebuild
the temple, and preferred to strengthen their own homes. It was
now Haggai’s objective to place the temple as first priority.
22-319 Roy D. Wells, Birmingham-Southern College
Marvin Sweeney’s Josianic Redaction and the Quest for an Isaianic Word to Post-Assyrian Jerusalem
This response will address only a small part of Marvin Sweeney’s far-ranging work on the movement of the Book of Isaiah.
The quest for a post-Isaianic, pre-exilic edition of the Isaiah is
at least as old as Mowinckel, who saw echoes of the impending
collapse of Assyria in the affirmation of current national religion
among Isaiah’s disciples (1926). Vermeylen, in the elaboration of
his 1972 dissertation describes an initial re-reading (relecture)
of Isaiah’s words of judgment. It climaxes in the accommodation of the words of Isaiah to popular mythological visions—in
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the time of Josiah—to the mythos of the coming Davidic Messiah. Barth finds, in the words explicitly or implicitly addressed
to Assyria, a productive reinterpretation (Adaption) of the Isaianic tradition, proclaiming the glorious future that is offered
to the Davidic scion Josiah in the aftermath of the collapse of
Assyria. Marvin Sweeney has advanced this classic recognition
of distinct voices and historical anachronisms in these words
attributed to an eighth century prophet. The method of redaction criticism—undergirded by form criticism—is suited to a
lessening interest in the quest of the historical Isaiah and growing interest in what Ackroyd has called the “presentation” of the
prophet Isaiah. Several considerations will guide my further
study of Sweeney’s work. I will look for a more detailed historical account of the reasons for the “silence” of Isaiah about the age
of Josiah. More important, I look forward to further dialogue
with the fundamental challenges raised by Sweeney’s research.
One is the image of a prophetic voice constructively addressed
to Josiah’s social and political programme—an alternative to
the image of the prophet as an alienated outsider. The other is
implicit in Sweeney’s use of redaction criticism. In contrast to
Vermeylen and Barth, who see the reinterpretation of Isaiah’s
words within the book as a model for an ongoing hermeneutic
of the text, Sweeney’s emphasis is on the specific reinterpretation
of the prophetic words in a specific historical setting.
22-319 Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, University of Aberdeen
Thoughts about Egypt, Assyria and a Possible Josianic Redaction
This paper discusses two aspects of Sweeney’s proposed Josianic
redaction of Isa 1–39. First, it examines Sweeney’s claim that the
texts concerning Egypt and Assyria in Isa 19:18–25 and 20:1–
6 are part of this Josianic redaction. In particular, it discusses
whether these texts reflect the historic reality of the redactors in
the seventh century as Sweeney suggests, or whether they rather
envision a not yet realized future situation. The paper further
evaluates Sweeney’s suggestion that Isa 11:11–16 stems from the
same Josianic redaction, and that these verses reflect the hope
of a return of exiles from Egypt and Assyria. Is it possible to
reconcile these two textual strands within one redaction? It also
touches upon the possibilities regarding the interpretation of
the similar material concerning Assyria and Egypt in Isa 40–55
(e.g., Isa 43:3–6; 49:12 [reading Aswan]; 52:4) that Sweeney’s
suggestion opens. In particular, what is the role of Egypt and
Assyria in these later chapters? Secondly, this paper discusses
Sweeney’s postulated Josianic redaction in the light of de Jong’s
recent book on the formation of Isa 1–39. Although both scholars agree as to the general theme of a redaction during the reign
of Josiah that reinterprets and recontextualizes the prophecies
of Isaiah ben Amos, they disagree significantly as to the specific
texts concerned.
22-319 Joseph Blenkinsopp, University of Notre Dame
Josiah, the Root of Jesse?
My contribution to the discussion of the theory of a Josian redaction of Isaiah 1–35 as presented by Marvin Sweeney will
concentrate on his arguments for assigning to this redactional
stage the poem about the peaceful kingdom in Isa 11:1–9 and
some passages in its immediate vicinity (10:5–12:6). This poem
was not part of Barth’s Assur-Redaktion nor was it included in
Clement’s variant of the hypothesis, but it has features in common with Vermeylen. I also want to raise the question how this
redactional stage can be fitted into the political history of Josiah’s
reign critically reconstructed, for example, in the detailed study
of Nadav Na’aman (Tel Aviv 18, 1991, 3–71).
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22-319 Marvin A. Sweeney, Claremont School of Theology
A Josianic Redaction of the Isaiah Scroll: What Difference Does It
Make? A Response
I am delighted with the invitation from the Formation of Isaiah
Group to discuss my work on Isaiah and Josiah. I look forward
to the three responses and to the discussion that will follow.
22-321 Edmon Gallagher, Heritage Christian University
The Status of the Greek Pentateuch in Early Judaism
The Judaean Desert Discoveries have shed much light on the
state of Hebrew and Greek biblical texts during the centuries
surrounding the turn of the eras. Several theories have been proposed to explain this new evidence. Scholars often point to the
growing dominance of the proto-Massoretic Text as indicated
both by the Hebrews texts now extant from the first century,
and by the Greek texts from the same time period. It is claimed
that these Greek texts witness to a series of revisions toward
the dominant Hebrew text, a move opposed by proponents of
the traditional Greek text, especially the author of the Letter of
Aristeas and Philo. This paper seeks to show that the dichotomy
between the proponents of Hebraizing Greek revisions and the
opponents of such revisions is a false dichotomy. Philo and the
Letter of Aristeas stress the supremacy of the Greek Pentateuch,
while there is little or no evidence for systematic revision of the
Greek Pentateuch on the order of the proto-Lucianic or kaige
revisions. In other words, the proponents of Hebraizing Greek
revisions did not touch the Pentateuch, and the opponents of
Hebraizing Greek revisions did not necessarily care about revisions of any book outside the Pentateuch.
22-321 Michael Labahn, Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal
The Five Books of the Law of Moses and the Book of John: Some
Remarks on the Use of the Greek Pentateuch in the Revelation of
John
Although it is frequently claimed that the Revelation of John
never quotes it is a well established fact that John uses scripture
throughout his book echoing, alluding and even building his literary structure on those pre-texts. The reference to Pentateuch
reaches from the Paradise story until the song of Moses, it is
present in Revelation from the introduction (cf. 1:4.6.7 referring
to Exod 3:14 respectively to Exod 19:6) until its end (22,18) by
securing its content taking up Deut 4:2. The discussion on the
text-form(s) used by John the Seer, that could be connected with
the well-known and important commentators on the Book of
Revelation Robert Henry Charles (Hebrew) and Henry Barclay
Swete (OG), is still under debate (e.g. Fekkes III versus Tilly).
However, without denying any influence by the Hebrew text, it
can be shown that Revelation drew heavily on the vivid Greek
text tradition from the first two centuries AD. The paper will focus on selected passages alluding to texts from the Pentateuch
to show how even within the selective and alluding style of reference to scripture, Revelation of John could be read as witness
to the Septuagint and even—although somehow speculative—to
the reconstruction of OG (cf. Rev 12:12 alluding to Deut 32:43).
22-321 Siegfried Kreuzer, Kirchliche Hochschule / Protestant University Wuppertal-Bethel
Old Greek, Kaige, and Scriptural Quotations in the New Testament
In the time of the New Testament the text of the Greek Bible was
not uniform. Besides textual differences caused by the transmission of the texts, there was at least the difference between the
Old Greek and the kaige-recension. In the New Testament, the
authors quoted scriptures out from different textual traditions.
So, the NT texts are witnesses to the development and trans-
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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mission of the Septuagint. On the other hand, NT quotations
may have influenced the transmission of the Septuagint text. For
both aspects it is important to consider the different possibilities
and to take into account that especially the difference between
the Old Greek and the kaige text also shaped the scriptural quotations in the NT. The paper will present the basic situation and
discuss several cases of that textual complexity and their importance for both, the textual history of the Septuagint and of the
New Testament. The examples will focus on quotations from the
historical books and Jeremia.
22-321 Reinhart Ceulemans, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Early Christian Access to the Minor Versions
This paper aims to investigate the ways in which Early Christian
exegetes (i.e., until 400 CE) had access to the Jewish versions of
Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion. Evidently, Origen’s Hexapla played a vital role in this process. Nevertheless, the question
whether Greek and Latin Church Fathers were able to consult
the individual translations of Aquila and the other revisers directly, is word asking. Quotations of these versions by Christian
contemporaries of Origen (Hippolytus of Rome?), the citation of
Aquila’s version of Gen 1,1–5 in papyrus New York, PML, Pap.
G. 3 (first half of the fourth century), Jerome’s mention of his
work on the individual text of Aquila (Epistulae 32, 1) etc.: these
are all factors that may argue that Early Christian access to these
versions did occur independently from the Hexapla. In addition,
the question of Origen’s own contact with these Jewish texts still
stands. This paper groups some of these data and carefully suggests some concluding remarks. The observations mentioned
above notwithstanding, Early Christian access to the individual
Jewish versions is questionable, to say the least.
22-322 James K. Hoffmeier, Trinity International University
The Aftermath of David’s Triumph Over Goliath and Ancient
Near Eastern Analogues
1 Samuel 17:54, which describes David’s actions after slaying
the giant, contains two vexing exegetical problems. This verse
reads: “And David took the head of the Philistine and brought
it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent” (ESV). This
paper will address a possible reason for David taking Goliath’s
head to Jerusalem, and attempt to clarify purpose of “putting his
armor in his tent” and whose tent is in view—the Lord’s, David’s
or Goliath’s?. All three have been proposed by commentators of
1 Samuel. Assyrian and Egyptian texts and iconography will be
considered that may help to interpret this intruiging verse.
22-322 Ralph K. Hawkins, Kentucky Christian University
Who Followed Yahweh in the Wilderness? Habiru or Shasu
When the term habiru (or ‘apiru) first surfaced in the late 19th
century in the El Amarna tablets, many scholars understood the
references to habiru raids against Canaanite cities as extrabiblical allusions to the Hebrew invasion of Palestine. This association
has retained its popularity with many biblical scholars up until
the present time. In the mid-20th century, however, R. Giveon
proposed that the early Israelite tribes found their origin with
the Shasu, an Egyptian term for a Bedouin-like people associated with the region of Seir/Edom. This paper will examine the
linguistic relationship between habiru and the Hebrew ‘ivri and
the nature of the habiru in the various sources in which they appear. It will then review Egyptian texts and inscriptions in which
the shasu appear, including the El Amarna tablets, the hypostyle
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hall at Karnak, Papyrus Anastasi VI, and others. The paper will
conclude by seeking to determine whether either group may
provide a source of origins for some element of the earliest Israelite settlers.
22-322 Meir Lubetski, City University of New York Bernard M. Baruch Coll
The Connection between Name and Icon on Pre-Exilic Hebrew
Seals
Most of the writings on the iconography of Hebrew seals were
published more than a half century ago and a fresh look at the
connection beween the engraved name and the icon has been a
desideratum for some time now. The paper is designed to provide examples of how an integration of the meaning of the icon
and the owner’s name leads to a better and broader understanding of the message of the seal. In addition, it throws light on the
cultural life of the period.
22-322 Rodrigo Silva, Centro Universitario Adventista de
Sao Paulo
How to use a Biblical Archaeological Museum in the teaching of
Bible—A Testimony
The Paulo Bork Archaeological Museum was established at the
Adventist University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) to provide the best
possible introduction to the culture of Ancient Egypt, Greece
and Middle East which relates to the biblical narrative. It is the
only of this king in South-America. The aim of its coordinators
was to build up Museum that could be a teaching tool of “Bible
and Archaeology” in a country that has not much research tradition in this field. For this reason they prepared a collection
of pottery, coins, figurines, inscriptions, and other objects that
could be representative samples from different periods of Bible
History including the period of the Second Temple and the
beginnings of Christianism. In archaeological terminology it
means that the Paul Bork’s collection covers a period of more
than 4500 years, from the Early Bronze III (2600 BC) until the
15th century AD. Actually, there are about 350 pieces in permanent exhibition coming from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan,
England, Italy, Greece, Iraq, and Israel. Through gifts from several people and institutions the Museum is in constant process
of growing up. All the artifacts have documentation of donation
or export approval papers from the original countries (for example from Israel Antiquities Authority). Interactive CD-Rom
on Archaeology and Bible, TV’s Documentary, popular articles
and books are some of the contribution prepared by the staff of
this Museum to introduce the archeology in the biblical lands to
students and layman’s of South America. Many of them will not
have other opportunity to interact with this kind of artifacts and
other may be incentive to be prepared as professionals of this
area in some University that offers the program of archaeology.
The purpose of this paper is to present the collection of the museum and its relation the Hebrew Bible (principal artifacts), the
teaching material provided by the Museum and a personal testimony on how this collection has been of great value for people
who lives far front the bible lands.
22-323 Holger Zellentin, Graduate Theological Union
The Late Antique Battle over Josephus
Scholars have long been intrigued by the amount of Hellenistic
lore in rabbinic literature, and especially about rabbinic knowledge of Josephus. Many distinctive features of the Jewish War
reappear in post-Constantinian rabbinic texts, but never quite
in the same way as in the original. At the example of Lamentations Rabbah and the Talmud Yerushalmi, I seek to inquire into
the textual basis and cultural context of the rabbinic reception
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of Josephus. I argue that the rabbis deliberately distort Josephus’
narratives in order to counter Christian claims of historical triumph. Such claims, especially in the case of Eusebius, manage to
marshal Josephus for their own purposes. The rabbinic distortion of Josephus, hence, not only serves to balance the historical
record, but also to undermine the text that formed the basis of
Christian polemics.
22-323 Sabrina Inowlocki-Meister, Université de Lausanne
Josephus’ influence on Eusebius’ apologetics and political theology
In this paper, I suggest to deal with an issue that is often neglected in both Josephan and Eusebian scholarship: the influence
of Josephus on Eusebius’ apologetic and theological-political
thought. It is well known that Eusebius used Josephus explicitly
in many of his works. However, the real influence that he may
have exerted on his thought has hardly been dealt with in detail.
In this presentation, I shall attempt to demonstrate that Eusebius’ use of Josephus was not restricted to explicit quotations but
that the Ist-century Jewish historian was of major influence on
the bishop’s conception of apologetics and political theology.
22-323 Todd Berzon, Columbia University
Scholastic Stylings: The Jewish Sources in Eusebius’s Preparatio
Evangelica
Eusebius’s bipartite apology, the Preparatio and Demonstratio
evangelica (the Apodeixis) affords an indispensable glimpse into
the process whereby the history of the Jews/Hebrews became a
central apologetic mechanism in the construction of a continuous and coherent narrative of Christian history. For Eusebius
the refinement of a Christian “prehistory” functions primarily
as a rejoinder to attacks against Christian novelty, innovation,
barbarism, and theological and philosophical barrenness. In
her analysis of Eusebius’s extensive employment of citations,
Eusebius and the Jewish Authors: His Citation Technique in an
Apologetic Context, Sabrina Inowlocki demonstrates the various citation strategies Eusebius utilized in his effort to recast the
history of Israel as the history of Christianity (and the history of
the Jews as the turning point in the history of Israel). While Inowlocki has produced an invaluable study of Eusebius’ citation
technique itself, she devotes only a few pages to the citation strategies of Eusebius’s intellectual forebears. Through an analysis of
the citation technique (or lack of technique) in Josephus’ Contra
Apionem, Clement of Alexandria’s Stromata, and Origen’s Contra Celsum, I hope to demonstrate both the quantitative and
qualitative distinctiveness of Eusebius’s Preparatio. Not only is
the text an astounding seventy-one percent citations, but the
manner in which Eusebius introduces his citations reflects a desire to candidly and carefully identify the sources of his material.
With the Jewish source material in particular, Eusebius explicitly
aims to let the sources speak for themselves, a technique that
serves to enhance his own scholastic authority. The breadth and
scope of Eusebius’s reliance upon and rearrangement of Jewish
sources signifies, I believe, an important shift in the coalescence
of Christian notions of literary, rhetorical, and historical scholasticism. Eusebius’s generally forthright acknowledgment of his
sources reflects a genuine effort to communicate his intellectual
mastery. The Apodeixis is, fundamentally, a learned performance
of scholastic aptitude.
22-325 Steven D. Fraade, Yale University
Local Jewish Leadership in Roman Palestine: The Case of the
Parnas in Early Rabbinic Sources in Light of Extra-Rabbinic
Evidence
The question of the extent to which, if at all, rabbis filled civil
leadership roles within Jewish society beyond their scholastic
circles, in 2nd-3rd century Palestine, is one which has increas120
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ingly been asked in recent years, with mixed, but increasingly
negative results. This paper will examine one small aspect of
the larger question, that being the functions of the figure of the
parnas (administrator, provider) and its relationship to rabbinic
leadership, whether real or imagined. I will examine sources that
mention the parnas or parnasim (pl.) in both tannaitic rabbinic
sources and non-rabbinic, including non-Jewish, inscriptions
and legal documents from roughly the same time, to see what
light they might shed on one another. The evidence, I shall argue, points to some exercise of rabbinic civil functions at the
local level, but also rhetorical efforts to portray such roles rhetorically so as to project a broader rabbinic leadership role.
22-325 Justin Winger, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
The Second Century CE Synagogue: Texts and Culture
With two contested exceptions, there is no archaeological evidence for a synagogue in Roman Palestine between the Bar
Kokhba revolt and the late 3rd or early 4th centuries CE. Furthermore, known synagogues from the 1st century CE and the
4th century CE are remarkably dissimilar in terms of both form
and function. A common approach to this problem in modern
scholarship has been to assume a steady trajectory between the
1st and 4th centuries CE and to read the Tannaitic sources—
which seem to assume the existence of synagogues—in a way
that reflects that conclusion. This paper seeks to shed light on
the state, function, and importance of the Palestinian synagogue
in 2nd-3rd century CE Jewish society by reanalyzing the ways
that the synagogue is conceptualized in the Tannaitic sources. It
will also compare conclusions reached with evidence from contemporary Christian sources.
22-325 Shaye J. D. Cohen, Harvard University
Mishnah Shabbat in Origen De Principiis
Origen (184/5–253/4 CE), the great Christian theologian and
scholar, had a sustained interest in Judaism, in particular the
Jewish exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures, throughout his life.
Although this theme has been investigated many times, an important passage in Origen’s De Principiis (On the Principles of
Christianity) has received virtually no scholarly attention and is
the subject of this paper. In this passage Origen cites two halakhot that appear in Mishnah Shabbat: the prohibition of wearing
nailed-sandals and the prohibition of carrying an item on one
shoulder. Origen attributes these laws to the “teachers of the
Jews,” and we may be sure that this expression refers to the rabbinic sages (the only passage of Origen in which we can be sure
that he is referring to rabbis). We may assume too that Origen
learned of these laws from a rabbinic informant. Origen explains
one of these two halakhot in a manner that disagrees with both
the Bavli and the Yerushalmi; his explanation seems much closer
to the plain meaning of the Mishnaic text than the interpretation that appears in the Talmudim. The other halakha Origen
misinterprets; he makes a false deduction, showing clearly that
his informant has used a formulation of the halakha that closely
resembles the one that would enter the Mishnah. The De Principiis was written in the early 220s, precisely when (we imagine)
Rabbi Judah the Prince was editing the Mishnah. There is no
sign that Origen or his informant knew our Mishnah, in either
written or oral form, but this passage is an important witness
to the pre-history of two halakhot that would become part of
Mishnah Shabbat. The passage also suggests that rabbinic Jews
and rabbinic Judaism had spread to Alexandria by the early decades of the third century.
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22-325 David Brodsky, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Jesus, Mary, and Akiva ben Joseph: A Fourth Century Jewish/
Christian Polemic in Massekhet Kallah
One Medieval tradition has read a passage in Massekhet Kallah (a rabbinic text from the Talmudic Period) about a woman
and her ill-conceived son as a reference to Jesus and Mary. In
the passage in Massekhet Kallah, by falsely promising her life in
the World-to-Come, Rabbi Akiva tricks the woman into revealing the circumstances under which her son was conceived. False
oaths are strictly forbidden in rabbinic literature, and this false
oath has left later scholars scrambling for explanation and justification. Read as a polemic against contemporaneous Christian
tenets, this and many other seemingly strange and anomalous
aspects of the story begin to make sense. Each anomaly seems
to be crafted to counter a key Christian ideology. Through the
story, the author is attempting to establish that Jesus is not the
son of God, but the product of adulterous and impure sex; that
the “true” revelation (a revelation made to Rabbi Akiva, not to
Jesus’ disciples) is the revelation of Jesus’ lowly birth, rather than
his divine conception; and that Jesus does not have the power
to grant a person eternal life, the rabbis do. These conclusions
are in line with the larger context of Massekhet Kallah and its
conflict with its Christian counterparts over the definitions of
holiness and sexual asceticism. These conclusions are also in line
with recent findings on the nature of clandestine references to
Jesus in the Talmud: they are crafted to counter core beliefs of
the authors’ Christian counterparts. A comparison with Christian literature of the same period and region confirms that these
attacks are consonant with the corresponding Christian theological writings of the story’s general provenance.
22-325 Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, Yale University
Repentance in Monastic Sources and the Babylonian Talmud: the
Story of Elazar B. Dordya
This paper is part of an ongoing project that explores analogies
and literary connections between early Egyptian Christian monastic texts and Babylonian Talmudic traditions. Specifically,
this paper examines the Babylonian Talmudic story concerning Elazar B. Dordya as found in tractate Avoda Zara 17a and
literary parallels in early Christian sources. I will identify a
unique receptiveness found in the Babylonian Talmud towards
monastic literary traditions and suggest a possible route of
transmission. The comparative approach adopted here reveals
the uniqueness of this story in its Talmudic setting. In addition, the rabbinic conception of repentance is highlighted when
compared to the monastic one. The results of this examination
offer a more accurate understanding of these talmudic traditions
and the intertextual and redactional processes that shaped those
sources into the texts we now have. We will also gain a better
understanding of cultural transmission in Sassanian Persia in
the 4th-7th centuries as well as a more nuanced picture of Jewish and Christian communities and their literary interactions in
late antiquity.
22-326 Charles Lynn Aaron, First United Methodist
Church, Farmersville, TX
The Contribution of the Book of Exodus to a Theology of
Preaching
In this paper the book of Exodus would be in dialogue with
the work of Richard Lischer, especially his book A Theology
of Preaching: The Dynamics of the Gospel, and with Charles
L. Campbell, especially his book The Word Before the Powers:
An Ethic of Preaching. Lischer’s book outlines three theological
movements in each sermon: analysis, transition, integration. I
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will explore how the book of Exodus informs the theology of
preaching with a basic structure that mirrors these three movements. The book of Exodus begins with the enslavement of the
Hebrew people, records their liberation in the exodus event, and
concludes with a time in the wilderness that becomes God’s opportunity to mold them into the people God intends them to
be. Campbell argues for preaching that creates a community of
resistance to the chaotic powers of creation. I will explore how
the book of Exodus portrays the “plagues” as God’s assault on
Pharaoh, understood as the embodiment of the forces of chaos.
Understanding these powers of chaos is part of the “analysis”
movement in Lischer’s interpretation of the theological movements in preaching. Freedom from these powers is part of the
“transition” movement. I hope to examine how the book of Exodus enables us to flesh out these theological understandings of
preaching.
22-326 J. Dwayne Howell, Campbellsville University
Hearing the Voices of Others: A Collaborative Reading of Leviticus 19
Leviticus 19 provides a call to “be holy as I the Lord, your God,is
holy (v. 2).” Included is this call is the proper treatment of those
considered to be vulnerable in the community. Especially defenseless would be the immigrant who had neither property
rights nor family ties to rely on for protection. The paper is based
on a collaborative reading of Leviticus 19 and discussion of the
treatment of the immigrant in today’s society. Collaborative
preaching, as set out by John McClure, seeks to move beyond
the solitary voice of the preacher and include the voices of others
in the study of the text and preparation of the sermon. Closely related to the study of collaborative preaching is the area of
Contextual Hermeneutics which seeks a cross-cultural listening
to the text. My research included a study guide for Leviticus 19
that I used in Bible studies in different settings. The presentation
is a summary of this research. It includes a synopsis of the Leviticus 19 passage, background on collaborative preaching and
contextual hermeneutics, responses from the Bible studies, and
implications for interpretation and preaching.
22-326 Do-Kyun Lim, Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary
Rhetoric Sensitive Sermon in the Epistle of James: Revitalizing
Biblical Rhetorical Effects from James’ Protreptic Epistle
Biblical sermons have tended to deliver only propositional ideas
or to explain the movement or structure of the text. Scripture,
however, contains not only its message but also unique effects
for communication. The science of rhetoric might aid contemporary preachers to discern persuasive elements in the biblical
texts and, consequently, to revitalize the intended biblical effects
in contemporary sermons. Belonging to the protreptic genre,
the epistle of James comprises copious rhetorical devices. This
presentation will spell out the protreptic features of the epistle
of James and its rhetorical devices (i.e., rhetorical questions, directive expressions, repetition, diatribe, metaphor, imperatives,
poetic expressions, biblical figures, and personal experiences),
and then attempt to reanimate biblical rhetorical impacts in the
construction of contemporary biblical sermons.
22-326 Mark Elliott, University of St. Andrews-Scotland
Seeking the Word Through the Words
This has a long pedigree going as far back as the patristic consideration of the relationship of Logos to logoi not least in
homiletics. In the second millennium this verbum simplex was
a key feature of Lutheran preaching through to modern evangelicalism and also the theology of Gerhard Ebeling, notably in
his 1962 Theologie und Verkundigung : ein Gesprach mit Rudolf
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Bultmann. Paradoxically this abstracting might not be the best
way of communicating in concrete terms, in the way that the
text was once concrete in the proclaimed message and implications to the audience of Paul or Isaiah. One reason for this is
the issue of ‘theological encyclopedia’, which Ebeling regarded
as learning skills of discernment of the gospel in every subject,
from OT background to Practical Theology itself (including literature and culture. (Leonhard Hell has sketched the history of
‘theological encyclopedia up to Schleiermacher.) The hermeneutical and homiletical task of putting the word into words again
is by-passed in the attempt to abstract a ‘word’ that would link
the sub-disciplines. Homiletics comes in as an additional art or
craft not a science, once all the exciting theology is over. Given a
theological account of proclamation as resting on Ascension and
Pentecost, preaching which tries to put the language, imagery
and ideas of the bible into a code (‘the Word’) which it then tries
to decode can only end in a very thin and subjective account
of practical theology. The Word needs to be seen as clothed in
the words-of Scripture and its analogues: the Deus revelatus as
the counterpoint to the Deus nudus. The ‘exposition’ sections
of commentaries have their place as model attempts to narrow
down interpretation and give it a focus, yet without leaving behind the world and words of the text.
22-327 Jean-Marie Durand, Collège de France
Mari and the Bible
This paper explores connections between some texts in the Pentateuch and the texts of Mari(for instance Lea, Rachel and Laban
and the worship of Sin, Leviticus 12 and the prohibition for the
queen to enter the palace, etc.). It will not be argued that there is
a direct dependacy between Mari and the Bible. The paper will
defend the idea of structural analogies which may allow us to get
a better insight into the mental world of the Ancien Near East
and the Bible.
22-327 Rami Arav, University of Nebraska at Omaha
The Religion of the Kingdom of Geshur and its Implications on
the Israelite Religion
The Kingdom of Geshur situated between the Aramean Kingdom of Damascus and the kingdom of Israel and included the
Golan, Bashan and Hauran. It was the southwestern most Aramaen kingdom in western Asia and undoutedly it served as a
vital channel through which Aramaic and north Mesopotamian
influences penetrated into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
Not too many Geshurite sites are known and fewer were actually excavated. It seems that the city of Bethsaida located at the
northeastern corner of the Sea of Galilee, served as the capital
of the kingdom of Geshur from the middle of the 10th century
BCE until the Assyrian conquest in the 732 BCE. Twenty-two
years of excavations at Bethsaida revealed significant information to draw some preliminary conclusions about the religion
of the Geshurites. The city gate of Bethsaida was found to be the
largest and the best-preserved city gate ever discovered in the
Southern Levant and therefore it provides an excellent opportunity to examine the religion of the Geshurites. This presentation
will focus on religious practices discovered primarily at the gate.
It will survey topics such as the stepped and the direct access
high places, the steles, the decorated stele and the identification
of the deity depicted on it, the sacrificial high place and the “kosher” animals found in the pit next to it. It will deal with the
offering vessels at one of the chamber of the gate, the dedication
inscription on an offering jug, the water rituals at the gate and
the figurines found at the site. All these finds shed light on the
origins and the meaning of the Israelite religious practices.
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22-327 Andrew R. Davis, Johns Hopkins University
Official and Family Religion at Iron Age Tel Dan
This paper will present previously unpublished materials from
the cultic structure at Tel Dan (Area T) as it relates to official
religion and family religion. Often these two categories of religious experience are juxtaposed, but the evidence from Dan
shows significant overlap. The paper will focus on Stratum II of
Area T (8th century BCE). On the one hand, this stratum has
all the hallmarks of a major cult center; the area’s large central
altar would have accomodated national festivals, and its ashlar
masonry suggests royal patronage. On the other hand, one section of Area T seems designed for more modest cultic occasions.
I will argue that the altar room in this section (T-West) was used
for “family religion.” The fact that both modes of cultic life were
present at 8th century BCE Tel Dan offers a fresh perspective
on how we think about official and family religion. Although
Dan was a royal sanctuary of the Northern Kingdom, its sacred
precinct also accomodated small-scale sacrifices. Too often we
associate this private piety only with domestic contexts, but
Area T shows that family religion could also take place in official
cultic places. This paper will consist primarily of archaeological
analysis, although textual sources will be brought in as appropriate. It is an expansion of research that was conducted at the
Albright Institute where I was a resident fellow (2007–08) and is
also part of my doctoral dissertation written under the direction
of Theodore Lewis at Johns Hopkins University.
22-327 Erin Darby, Duke University
Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Ghost? The “Apotropaic” Clay Images of Iron II Judah in Neo-Assyrian Context
Judean pillar figurines have recently been interpreted as apotropaic objects, but these claims are regularly accompanied by
any number of perhaps logical but unproven corollaries. Two
of the most common correlating assumptions suggest the figurines were employed primarily by females to aid in child birth
or rearing and that they were circulated by popular levels of society rather than by the official cult. Unfortunately, it has been
almost impossible to locate any mention of the figurines in the
Hebrew Bible, although this has done little to curb scholarly
speculation. Further, most studies ignore the Iron II texts that
do describe apotropaic rites using clay figurines—those of the
Neo-Assyrian empire. The Neo-Assyrian ritual corpus provides
ample evidence of clay figurines in exorcism and apotropaic
ritual actions. This paper first summarizes several characteristics of these ritual texts and then compares those findings to the
archaeological record in Iron II Judah. The results of the study
challenge scholarly paradigms that presuppose “apotropaism”
and “popular religion” to be synonymous. It likewise challenges
any notion that the evils combated in apotropaic rituals, even
when associated with childbirth or rearing, are the sole concern
of females. Ultimately, regardless of the extent to which the textual corpus correlates with Judean practice, the texts can help
establish a standard for the study of “apotropaism” as a category
of analysis. More, that category resists strict dichotomization
into official/popular or male/female and instead recognizes the
ambiguous and cross-cutting nature of ritual action.
22-327 Izak Cornelius, University of Stellenbosch and
Ruhr University Bochum
Early Judaic/Yehudite Religion: An Iconographical Approach
This paper builds on, and is a continuation of, the paper “Continuity and Discontinuity in the Iconography of the Southern
Levant in the Babylonian-Persian Periods” (SBL International
Meeting Rome, July 2009). The Rome paper focuses on the
sources, while this paper looks at the question of whether the
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iconography (visual culture) of the Persian province of Yehûd
reflects “traces of monotheism.” There has been great interest in
the development of early Judaism and the Second Temple Period. The state of research can only be described as dynamic.
Slowly this period is emerging as more than just a “dark age.”
Whereas the written sources and the archaeological data (e.g.
Stern) have been examined extensively, the iconographical material (figurines, seals and coins) as such has not received serious
attention (exceptions are Keel and Uehlinger). A new project envisages making a contribution in this regard and the paper will
report on some of the results. The nature of the religious landscape and the system of religious symbolism will be investigated
in the light of these sources (e.g. divine images on coins). Was
there a revolution and an iconoclastic “purification” of Israelite
religion (Stern) or more continuity?
22-328 Joseph Man-Kit Poon, University of Sheffield
What Role the Leviathan-Behemoth Tradition Plays in Revelation 13:1–18: A Comparison of the Traditions in 4 Ezra 6:49–52,
2 Apocalypse of Baruch 29:4, 1 Enoch 60:7–10, 24ab, and Revelation 13:1–18
There has been a consensus that the beast from the sea and the
beast from the land in Rev 13:1–18 allude to the two ancient
mythic figures, Leviathan and Behemoth, the male monster
from the sea and the female monster from the land. But there
are very few discussions of what significance the Leviathan-Behemoth tradition has made in Rev 13:1–18. The same tradition
also occurs in fragmentary form of the three Second Temple
apocalypses roughly synchronous with Revelation: 4 Ezra 6:49–
52, 2 Apoc. Bar. 29:4, 1 Enoch 60:7–10, 24ab. Unlike these three
passages, Rev 13:1–18 alludes to the tradition only in a superficial way because the role of the myth in Revelation 13 is different
from that in the other three texts. By studying the similarities
and differences between the four passages, this paper aims to
argue that John took up only one of the themes of the tradition
in illustrating his two beasts, namely, the eschatological theme.
22-328 Marius Heemstra, University of Groningen
Revelation and the Fiscus Judaicus
It is a widespread view in recent scholarship that there was no
persecution of Christians under the emperor Domitian, mainly
because we have no Roman sources to corroborate this. This
conclusion can be basically shared by me if it is more accurately formulated as: we know of no persecution of Christians
as Christians under Domitian. But immediately I add: the administration of the Fiscus Judaicus under Domitian may very
well have been the reason why Christian communities felt they
were persecuted by Roman authorities. Their relatively wealthy
members ran the risk of being denounced and prosecuted:
Jewish members on a charge of evasion of the Jewish tax and
non-Jewish members on a charge of ‘living a Jewish life improfessi’ (Suetonius). Their property could be confiscated on
conviction and non-Jewish Christians even ran the risk of being
executed as ‘atheists’ (Cassius Dio). My suggestion is that these
circumstances were the background against which the book of
Revelation was written. The first issue that will be discussed in
this paper is the date of Revelation. In the context of the Fiscus
Judaicus I will argue for the traditional date: ‘towards the end of
Domitian’s reign’. After this discussion about dating issues the
distinction between Jewish and non-Jewish Christians will be
a leading principle, since this was a major characteristic of the
administration of the Fiscus Judaicus under Domitian as well.
This distinction will be taken into full account when the following topics are considered: the nature of the ‘persecution’ found
in several passages of Revelation, the local circumstances that
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we learn about in the letters to the ‘seven churches’ (Rev. 2–3),
and John’s vision of the 144,000 out of the tribes of Israel and the
innumerable multitude ‘from every nation, from all tribes and
peoples and languages’ (Rev. 7).
22-328 David M. May, Central Baptist Theological Seminary-Kansas City
Revelation 17:10–11: The Identity of the Seven Kings Through
Roman Imperial Coinage
The identity of the seven kings in Rev. 17:10–11 is an enigma
for interpreters of the Apocalypse. Frederick J. Murphy declared,
“the variety of solutions that have been proposed show that,
even more than with the number 666, the impulse to ‘decode’
the seven kings is doomed to failure” (Fall Is Babylon, 360). This
paper presents a more optimistic hope for success by proposing a new approach to this problematic passage: numismatic
evidence. Titus Flavius Vespasianus (38–81 CE) succeeded his
father, Vespasian, on June 23, 79 CE. In becoming Augustus,
Titus ruled for twenty-seven months (79–81 CE) and issued a
series of unusual coins frequently labeled as “restoration” coins.
These coins are always bronze (sestertius, dupondius, and as)
and used motifs drawn from the past coinage of the Julio-Claudians. On these restoration coins, Titus honored four emperors
from the past and then adds his father’s own special divus coins:
(1) Augustus, (2) Tiberius, (3) Claudius, (4) Galba, and (5) Vespasian. While scholars have speculated about where to begin
and/or end the count of emperors, who to include, and who to
excluded, the restorations coins solve the problem. The wide distributed and readily seen restoration coins bearing the images
of these five emperors presents a natural identity for the fallen
kings of the Apocalypse. The one who is, the sixth, therefore,
represents the current emperor Titus, and thus helps to date the
Apocalypse to his reign. The seventh, the one who has not come,
was Domitian.
22-328 Jill Kirby, Catholic University of America
The Warfare of the Saints
This paper extends Klassen’s observation that the saints are never portrayed as the agents of God’s vengeance in the Apocalypse
by examining the roles and activities of selected characters in
12:17–14:5. The antithetical parallelism in the Dragon’s stance
on the shore of the sea (12:18) and the Lamb’s position on Mt.
Zion (14:1) suggests that the Lamb has followed the wrathful
Dragon down to the earth after the Dragon’s expulsion from
heaven. This sets the stage for an eschatological conflict between
the two enemies on a mythological battlefield representing the
remainder of the earth as it stretches from the Dragon’s seashore
to the Lamb’s mountain, which is presented as the axis mundi of
the earth. From his position the Dragon calls up the two beasts,
one from the sea and the other from the land, and gives them
his power to prosecute his war against the woman’s descendants
(12:17). The Lamb likewise has companions, the 144,000 who
were sealed in 7:1–8. Although the 144,000 are depicted as warriors prepared for Holy War, they do not engage their enemies
in the traditional manner. Instead, their role is laid out by John
in sharp contrast to the activities of the two beasts. They are indeed warriors but their role is that of disciples who follow the
Lamb. In contrast to the first beast and his service to the Dragon
(13:5–8), they are devoted servants of God (14:4). And against
the deceptive role of the second beast, who is said to dupe the
inhabitants of the earth (13:13–14), they are without deceit and
blameless (14:5). They do not wage war as it is commonly understood against the Dragon, the beasts, or the deluded inhabitants
of the earth, but serve God in perfect consecration.
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22-328 Paul Middleton, University of Wales, Lampeter
An Apocalyptic Chorus Line: Narratives of Violence in the
Hymns of Revelation
The hymns interspersed throughout the Book of Revelation
(rather like numbers in a musical) appear at first glance to reflect upon the action of the particular scene in which they are
found, or the narrative plot thus far. So, in the investiture of the
Lamb in the throne room scene of chapter 5, the elders and living creatures sing about the worthiness of the Lamb (5.9–10).
However, this paper will argue that the hymns of Revelation not
only presuppose the complete narrative of the entire drama, but
taken together create a discourse that promotes a reading of the
Apocalypse in which the reader is encouraged to gaze upon the
subjects of violence: the martyrs and the damned. Revelation’s
hymnal highlights the martyrs as a distinctive group, both in
terms of the subject and singers of hymns. The hymnic material promotes a reading of martyrdom not as passive resistance,
but by creating an alternative narrative world to that offered by
Rome, presents martyrs as key and active participants in the
Lamb’s violent judgement of the wicked. The hymns of Revelation therefore encourage an interpretation of both martyrdom
and apocalyptic judgement which render non-violent readings
of the Apocalypse near impossible.
22-329 Felix Just, Loyola Institute for Spirituality
Who Were the First Disciples of Jesus?
Those who assume the historical facticity of Mark’s Gospel rarely
admit how unrealistic and improbable the “call” stories of Mark
1–2 really are. They often also assume that “the twelve apostles”
were with Jesus throughout his public ministry. In contrast, the
Fourth Gospel evidences a more realistic and natural process of
how the first few disciples came to follow Jesus, as well as the variety of disciples who accompanied him at various points of his
ministry. By recognizing and setting aside Mark’s theologically
driven emphases, we come to a better realization of the greater
historical plausibility of the Johannine presentation of the relationships between Jesus and his core group of disciples.
22-329 Robert L. Webb, McMaster University
John the Baptist and Jesus in the Fourth Gospel
John is never called “the Baptist/baptizer” in the Fourth Gospel,
and yet he is clearly described as engaging in a baptizing ministry. The portrait of John the Baptist is distinctive in each Gospel,
but the portrait in the Fourth Gospel is quite different from that
found in the Synoptic Gospels. This paper seeks to explore four
questions: (1) How is John the Baptist portrayed in the Fourth
Gospel? (2) How is this portrait different from that painted by
the Synoptics? (3) What does the Fourth Gospel’s portrayal of
John contribute to our understanding of Jesus? (4) To what extent is this Johannine picture of John the Baptist historical?
22-329 Udo Schnelle, University of Halle
The Signs in the Gospel of John
John takes up the historical fact of Jesus doing miracles and
integrates it into his theological conception. The concept of
perceptible signs is a central element of the Fourth Gospel’s incarnation Christology. John integrates seven miracle stories into
his Gospel, an expression of the number seven as representing
fullness and completion, as in Gen. 2:2. Each type of miracle is
found only once in John. The individual miracle stories are systematically apportioned throughout the public ministry of Jesus,
and illustrate a central aspect of Johannine Christology: the saving divine presence in the Incarnate One, who as the mediator
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of creation created life at the beginning (John 1:3), is himself the
Life (John 1:4), and is the giver of life to others.
22-329 Gary M. Burge, Wheaton College
Revisiting the Johannine Water Motif: Jesus, Ritual Purification
and the Pool of Siloam in John 9
Since the discovery of the first century Pool of Siloam in 2004,
many scholars have identified the pool as a Jewish mikveh used
for ritual washing. Johannine scholars have watched this development with interest because of the reference to the pool in John
9. Not only is this discovery itself important archaeologically
but the pool’s identification as a mikveh renders new historical significance to the narrative of John 9. New questions must
be asked about the historical plausibility of this unique healing
story. The Siloam mikveh also opens a variety of new historical
questions about the Johannine Jesus and history. Scholars will
need to revisit the well-known Johannine water motif that appears in many critical passages (1.26, 33; 2.7, 9; 3.5, 23; 4.7–15;
5.7; 7.38; 13.5; 19.34). Throughout the history of interpretation
the water motif has enjoyed numerous symbolic or theological
meanings. However this paper will suggest that the motif is primarily concerned with ritual purity and gains strong plausibility
as a firm Johannine datum for the historical Jesus.
22-330 Hye Kyung Park, Claremont Graduate University
The Tekoite Wise Woman and Her Prophecy: The Interpretation
of 2 Samuel 14:2–20 for Korean Feminism
In the Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Bible, wisdom is personalized as a woman. Why does the author of the Wisdom
Literature want to give us a sense of the femaleness of wisdom? This metaphor is related to women’s specialized gifts and
is depicted by the wise woman “who has been noted for astute
counselor, persuasiveness, and tact.” We have images of female
wisdom not only in the Wisdom Literature but also in the monarchic stories. They are the unnamed wise women in Tekoa
(2 Sam. 14) and in Abel (2 Sam. 20). These two women appear
with the stories of Joab. Scholars argue about whether or not
the woman in Tekoa represents genuine wisdom. In this paper,
I would like to debate the identity of the wise woman of Tekoa
based on the work of George G. Nicol and that of Claudia Camp.
I argue that, why does Joab send the wise woman of Tekoa to
the king? Why couldn’t Joab present himself before the king?
What kind of ability does the wise woman have that Joab does
not have? It is clear that, Joab needs the wise woman of Tekoa.
The wise woman of Tekoa not only has the wisdom to solve the
ambiguous question of David, but also she appears as a prophetic figure to appear before the king. In feminist studies of
the Hebrew Bible, it is important to consider that the images of
women have been covered over by the male-centered misleading
interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. The wisdom and prophecy
of the Tekoite woman are significant references for a feminist
perspective regarding present day world’s issues such as the reunification of the two Koreas.
22-330 Jang Ryul (John) Lee, University of Edinburgh
Did No One Dare to Ask Him a Question Any More? A Narrative
Reading of the ‘Silence’ of Jesus’ Opponents (Mark 12.34c)
A narrative reading of the ‘silence’ of Jesus’ opponents in Mark
12:34c means that the emphatic statement on the ‘silence’ must
be read in light of Mark’s narrative as a whole. The flow of the narrative in the immediate context of 12.34c portrays Jesus’ victory
over his opponents (11.27–12.34b) and introduces his loaded
question concerning the identity of the Messiah (12.35–37). A
narrative reading, however, looks beyond just the immediate
context to the story in its entirety. In light of the whole narrative, it is necessary to understand this ‘silence’ in connection
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to the climax of the story–the passion narrative. In connecting
12.34c with the passion narrative, we, however, have to face the
fact that Jesus is challenged and even mocked by his non-silent
opponents in the trial scene (Mk 14.53–65). How should we understand the declaration of ‘silence’ in 12.34c in view of such
‘non-silence’? This paper answers the question by considering
the ‘silence’ (12.34c) and the ‘non-silence’ (14.53–65) of Jesus’
opponents along with various portrayals of Jesus’ authority and
the use of irony throughout the Markan narrative. The ‘silence’
of Jesus’ opponents then appears to establish an apologetic
point: Jesus did not die powerlessly, but rather powerfully—he,
as a victor, chose to take his seemingly defeat-symbolizing cross.
The ‘non-silence’ of Jesus’ opponents in the trial account, in that
sense, is not an indicator of the incompleteness of his victory,
but rather a sign of the ironic death this victor had to die in order to fulfill God’s will (14.36).
22-330 Sun Myung Lyu, Korean Presbyterian Church of
Ann Arbor
Qohelet the Realist Exhorts the Young (Qohelet 11:9–10)
Ecclesiastes 11:9–10 has been said to be confusing and self-contradictory, as it advises the young audience to pursue pleasure
and yet to be mindful of divine judgment. This paper argues that
Qohelet speaks in this text as a firm realist. He avoids both idealist and hedonist positions that may bring worries and misfortune
to life. Qohelet is painfully aware that the youth, expressed above
all by its characteristic vigor, is uncertain and transient (hebel)
at best. For that reason, the only sensible approach to life is to
enjoy the pleasure while not losing sight of the certainty of death
and ensuing judgment. In the limited sense of the word, therefore, Qohelet speaks as a true realist who tries to get the most out
of one’s fleeting life.
22-330 Hung-Sik Choi, Torch Trinity Graduate School of
Theology
A Reconsideration of the Antithesis between Peritome / Akrobustia and Pistis di Agapes Evnergoumene in Galatians 5:6
It is widely recognized that Galatians 5:6 is one of the most important verses for understanding Paul’s theological conviction
and arguments in Galatians. It is clear that Paul sets “circumcision/uncircumcision,” not just circumcision, in antithesis with
pistis di agapes evnergoumene as two antithetical bases of justification. Most commentators of Galatians (notably Betz, Bruce,
Burton, Dunn, Fung, Martyn, Mussner, Schlier) have not satisfactorily expounded its force, function, and significance. Since
all interpreters of Paul have taken pistis di agapes evnergoumene
as “the Christian’s faith working through love,” the antithesis has
been understood more or less as the contrast between the Jewish distinction of “circumcision vs. uncircumcision” and the
Christian’s faith working through love. The antithesis should
be interpreted as a microcosm of the two incompatible beliefsystems between Jewish ethnocentric covenantalism and Paul’s
gospel of Christ’s faithfulness demonstrated on the cross. The
force of Gal 5:6 is that justification depends not on the circumcised state or the uncircumcised state but on Christ’s faithfulness
working through his sacrificial love. Through the antithesis Paul
attempts to persuade them to follow “the gospel of Christ” based
on the message of the cross rather than “a different gospel” based
on Jewish ethnocentric covenantalism. With the antithesis Paul
answers one of the issues at stake both in Antioch and in Galatia,
i.e. the relationship between Jewish and Gentile believers. As a
result of the triumph of Christ’s faithfulness over the Jewish ethnocentric covenantalism, the old epoch’s classification between
Jew (Jewish believers) and Gentile (Gentile believers) based on
Jewish exclusivism has been rendered inoperative. The power of
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Christ’s faithfulness demonstrated on the cross sets the Gentiles
free from the Jewish socio-religious discrimination by bringing
the old Jewish value-system to an end.
22-331 F. Rachel Magdalene, University of Leipzig and
Humboldt University Berlin
A Question of Method: Legal Anthropology and Understanding
Achaemenid Use of Law to Control the Empire’s Periphery
The governing of large empires requires the use of a broad range
of methods to subdue, stabilize, control, and ultimately unify
the diverse kingdoms and ethnic groups of an empire. Law is
one of the key mechanisms through which empires control their
multi-ethic populations. Colonial powers may impose their legal systems, in whole or in part, on conquered regions in order
to achieve stability and consistency across their empire. Scholars
have long held that the Achaemenid kings instituted no apparent
changes of consequence to legal procedure in southern Mesopotamia after the conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire until the
supposed legal reforms instituted toward the end of the reign of
Darius I. Further, scholars have generally argued that this was
part of a “home rule” policy that the Achaemenid kings implemented in the farthest reaches of the empire. Yet, more biblical
historians are criticizing this view. In exploring this question
further, this paper examines the theoretical work of legal anthropologists in the field of colonial legal studies. These scholars
have been studying for some time the various relationships that
might exist between colonial law and indigenous law in such
situations. This paper asks how such constructs might inform
the work of both Assyriologists and biblicists, who are exploring the use of law by the Achaemenid Empire to control its vast
regions. In particular, it looks carefully at so-called home rule
legal environments and how the law of the indigenous peoples
is co-opted in such systems. The paper concludes that the theoretical construct of such legal anthropologists would be a highly
valuable tool in this inquiry.
22-331 Vadim Jigoulov, Morgan State University
Greeks Bearing Gifts: Issues of Cultural Exchange in the PersianPeriod Eastern Mediterranean
Several recent publications have intimated that the penetration
of the Greek material-culture artifacts and language into the
Levant commenced well before the actual arrival of Alexander
the Great there. This paper will explore a possibility of broader
Greek cultural penetration into the Levant that involved additionally a literary aspect.
22-331 Russell Hobson, University of Sydney
Another Look at the Sanctuary at Mizpah: Jeremiah 41:5 in the
Light of Elephantine Papyri AP30–33.
The existence of a 6th century sanctuary at Mizpah that took
the place of the first Jerusalem temple has been a topic of debate
among scholars. D. Jones suggested in 1963 that Jer 41:5 describes
limited cultic rites, involving only cereal and incense offerings,
that continued at the site of the ruined temple in Jerusalem after the destruction of 587/6 BCE. More recently J. Blenkinsopp
has argued for a shift in cultic activity to Mizpah following the
destruction of Jerusalem. This paper will investigate both views
in the light of the description of the offerings mentioned in Jer
41:5, and those rites that were authorised for practice at the
Jewish temple in Elephantine in the late 5th century BCE. The
latter are reflected in the correspondence between the sanctuary
priests in Elephantine and the Persian administrator in Judah,
AP30–33. The initial letter from Elephantine that requests permission to offer animal, cereal and incense sacrifices, and the
reply from the Judaean administration authorising only cereal
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and incense offerings, will be discussed as evidence in favour of
Blenkinsopp’s hypothesis.
22-331 Ronnie Goldstein, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
New Insights on the Redaction of Jeremiah 37–44
In contrast to opinio communis in Jeremiah studies, according
to which it is impossible to reconstruct the separate phases in
the evolution of the traditions regarding the prophet’s life, this
study indicates that by combining source-critical, form-critical,
tradition-history, and literary-critical methods, this reconstruction can indeed be made, at least in part. The present study will
concentrate primarily on the last stage of the development of
chapters 37–44 of Jeremiah, its date and message. The redactor
of those chapters, it is suggested, belongs to a late stage in the
evolution of the Deuteronomic school, since in both style and
message he is close to those of the Second Temple period, especially to those of the Chronicler. This description can also serve
as the basis for a better understanding of the Deuteronomistic
strata in Jeremiah, and, more broadly, of the later stages in the
development of the Deuteronomic school. While the roots of
this relatively late strata are indeed in Deuteronomy, it manifest
a greater affinity to terms and ideas occurring in the later Biblical books.
22-331 Jeremiah W. Cataldo, Grand Valley State University
The Spectre of Theocracy
Persian-period Hebrew texts such as Ezra-Nehemiah, Haggai,
and Zechariah reveal aspirations for a theocratic utopia. These
aspirations, however, are not based in any material reality. Neither Israel nor Judah were ever theocracies—there was therefore
no structural social, economic, or political base upon which to
build a theocratically defined infrastructure. For this reason, the
vision of theocracy alluded to in these texts should be read as a
vision of utopia (literally ‘no place’). This paper will both offer a
working definition of ‘theocracy’ and bring these texts into conversation with theories on utopia and processual developments
in society offered by social theorists such as Thomas More, Anthony Giddens, Pierre Bourdieu, and Serge Moscovici.
22-332 Adam Winn, Fuller Theological Seminary
Power or Suffering? Reconsidering Mark’s Christological Presentation
This paper challenges the prevailing belief among Markan interpreters that Mark presents Jesus as the Messiah primarily
in terms of his suffering and death. In an attempt to better understand Mark’s christological presentation, this paper works
through Mark’s narrative, analyzing the prologue, Galilean
ministry, confession at Caesarea Philippi, Jerusalem journey/
ministry, and passion narrative. This analysis demonstrates that
Mark’s primary christological presentation is one of power and
authority rather than suffering and death.
22-332 Geert Van Oyen, Universite Catholique de Louvain
The Vulnerable Authority of the Evangelist: (Re-)reading the
Paradoxes in the Gospel of Mark
Since the rise of reader response criticism, the use of paradox
is generally recognized as one of the specific literary devices
Mark uses in the communication between the implied author
and the implied reader. The well known passages are found
in 8,35; 9,35 and 10,43–44. It seems that the theme present in
these paradoxical statements is related to power and authority,
not only by their place in the Gospel within the context of the
section 8,27–10,52, but also because of their revolutionary content which summarizes the meaning of Jesus’ message and life
throughout Mark’s Gospel. This paper will proceed in four steps.
(1) After a brief presentation of the paradoxes in their context,
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(2) I will emphasize how they serve as key texts for understanding the characterization of Jesus and as a critique towards almost
all other characters in the Gospel (both the religious and political authorities and the disciples). (3) Then I will argue that
the literary device of paradox expresses in an unsurpassed way
the vulnerability of the narrator who—in order to convince his
readers of the truth of his message—has no other ‘proof ’ than
the example of Jesus’ life leading to his tragic death. In this sense,
the use of the literary device ‘paradox’ is in harmony with the
message of the evangelist: his only authority lies in the fate of the
powerless man Jesus. (4) Finally by pointing out their ‘utopian’
character, the critical ethical function of the paradoxes for both
contemporary and actual readers will be explained. They invite
the readers urgently—as individuals and as a community—to
rethink again and again the values they stand for. The unique
and only final test for them to know if they really understand
the paradoxes lies in following the way of Jesus from Galilee to
Jerusalem.
22-332 Rikk E. Watts, Regent College
In the Power and Authority of God: Yahweh-Christology in Mark
This paper will argue that Mark’s fundamental category for
understanding Jesus is what might be termed a Yahweh-Christology. From the opening sentences (Isa 40/Mal 3), the rending
of the heavens (1:10), the details of Jesus’ healing the leper (1:40–
44), the immediately following presentation of his forgiving
sins (2:1–12), what appears to be his embodiment of Yahweh’s
self-revelatory Deuteronomic word (3:1–5), the warning concerning blaspheming the Holy Spirit (3:29), the conjunction of
the storm-stilling and the drowning of legion (4:35—5:20), the
“fearful” responses to his mighty deeds in 4:35—5:43, his walking
on the sea (6:45–52 in conjunction with the preceding feeding),
his status vis-à-vis Torah (7:19), Jesus’ role in the Transfiguration tableaux (9:2–8) and his close association with John-Elijah
(9:11–13), to his cursing of the fig tree/judgment on the Temple
intercalation (indicative of Malachi’s Lord of the Temple, 11:12–
25), the extreme loyalty demanded by him of his disciples (infra,
and in the light of Deut. 6 in 12:29), his use of Psa. 110:1 on the
question of David’s Lord (12:36–37), and perhaps the implications of the last supper (14:17–25), there are strong indications
that Jesus is acting with the power and authority characteristically attributed to Yahweh alone. There are several reasons why
scholars may have missed this. A failure to take seriously the
implications of an apparently uncontested high Christology in
Paul for the more latterly written Mark, a lack of awareness of
the implications of Mark’s use of particular OT texts, a misunderstanding of the role of Peter’s Caesarea Philippi confession (it
is less a high point than Jesus pulling back to something more
accessible for the disciples), and perhaps a reactionary though
anachronistic reading against later Trinitarian creedal confessions.
22-332 Tom Shepherd, Andrews University
Power and Authority in Mark 1 and 16 in Codex W
A narrative analysis of Mark 16 in Codex W illustrates the way
in which the Freer Logion sets the dominant trajectory of the
passage—the triumph of Christ over Satan and over unbelief for
the salvation of the world. The note of power expressed in salvation finds an answering chord in a narrative analysis of Mark
1:1–15 in W in which the addition of Isaiah 40:4–8 at Mark 1:3
(along with other modifications) enhances the narrative trajectory of the mission of Jesus in a sense of glory and salvation
accompanied by the abasement of human pride. This suggests
that the additions at Mark 1:3 and the Freer Logion at 16:14
form an inclusio focused on triumph. The paper concludes with
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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a hypothesis that the triumph of Christianity over paganism in
the 4th to 5th centuries CE was the historical setting for this
scribal modification of the tradition.
22-333 David L. Balch, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
Artistic Representations of Corporeality, Sexuality, and Intimacy
at Meals
This paper will present slides from Pompeii illustrating how sexuality and intimacy at meals were portrayed in Roman art.
22-333 Ellen B. Aitken, McGill University
A Valentinian Response to the Culture of Reclining
This paper will review how Valentinians responded to the culture of reclining at Greco-Roman meals.
22-333 Jordan D. Rosenblum, University of WisconsinMadison
Inclined to Decline Reclining? Women, Corporeality, and Dining
Posture in Early Rabbinic Literature
This paper will review how reclining at meals, especially in regard
to women, provoked discussion in early Rabbinic literature.
22-334 John D. Turner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
From Baptismal Vision to Mystical Union with the One: The
Case of the Sethian Gnostics
This paper will attempt to trace the process by which the ritual
practice of Sethian baptism (“the five seals”) was developed into
the contemplative practice of mystical union with the supreme
deity (the One, Monad, or Invisible Spirit) as emerges from comparison of five Sethian treatises: the Apocryphon of John, the
Trimorphic Protennoia, the Holy Book of the Invisible Spirit,
Zostrianos, and Allogenes. While it is clear that the common element is visionary experience, what is less clear is the process by
which tangible and sensory components of ritual performance
become transformed into acts of self-reflexive cognition and assimilation to external ontological realities.
22-334 Philip L. Tite, Montreal, QC
Martyrdom and Persecution Language in the Interpretation of
Knowledge (NHC XI,1)
The Interpretation of Knowledge concludes with several motifs
that are drawn from early Christian martyrdom or persecution
language: a direct reference to persecution; an ethic of world
renouncement; two types of sin; an athletic metaphor of “contending” or “striving”; and the crown of victory. This paper
explores these motifs within the broader context of martyrdom
literature, arguing that the author of this Valentinian text has
explicitly tapped into such language in closing his or her paraenesis. The paper will explore this theme in three parts. First,
a comparative analysis will be offered of the motifs in light of
martyrdom literature in order to elucidate the closing of the text.
Second, the closing of the Interp. Know. will be used to re-read
the rest of the text. As I have argued elsewhere, this text is a
sustained paraenesis within an intra-Christian social conflict
calling for reconciliation. By recognizing martyrdom language
in the tractate, a more precise understanding of the rhetorical
situation of the paraenesis will be suggested. Third, this paper
will attempt to place this Valentinian text within the broader
early Christian martyr traditions, arguing that the Valentinian Christians were just as concerned over martyrdom as other
Christians and positively draw upon that tradition to encourage
and exhort fellow Christians.
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22-334 Taylor Petrey, Harvard Divinity School
The Flesh in the Epistle to Rheginos
The Epistle to Rheginos (Rheg) advocates a notion of the transformative spiritual resurrection which ascends at death, leaving
the flesh behind. More completely, the resurrection includes a
process of transforming the believer through bodily practices
beginning in this life. Surprisingly, despite the notion of spiritual ascent, in his formulation of the resurrection there is no
moral condemnation of the flesh as rooted in sin. In this way,
Rheg conceives of the flesh quite differently than many of his
contemporaries. According to Rheg, the problem with the flesh
that prevents it from being raised is simply its mortality, that
it grows old and dies. This insight helps explain the divergent
views about sexuality among the “orthodox” texts advocating
the resurrection of the flesh, but also to understand the divergent views about this same issue among those advocating the
spiritual resurrection. Many things are shared between this text
and contemporary treatments of the resurrection, such as the
discourse of orthodoxy, the notion that the resurrection may be
experienced partially in this life, and the notion that the resurrection focuses one’s practices for acquiring virtues. The absence
of preoccupation with the problematic of the flesh as a sexualized substance stands out in Rheg.
22-334 Jörgen Magnusson, Dalarna University
“The Lawless Person Will Do No More Wrong Than the Lawful
Person”: A Proposal for a New Perspective on Ethics in the Gospel
of Truth
No longer scholars expect valentinian texts to advocate indifference to ethics, libertinian or radically ascetic stereotyped
positions. On the part of the Gospel of Truth the discussions on
the paraenesis on page 32–33 has highlighted the use of wide
spread Jewish and Christian ethical jargon. However, as page 33
of the Gospel of Truth is a philologically very difficult text the
analysis of the ethical message has been seriously hampered in
earlier scholarly works. I propose a new solution to these problems and claim that the Gospel of Truth exhorts an ethic that
does not relate itself to any cosmic order. In this manner the
Gospel of Truth represents an ethical perspective that is a consequence of a sharply anticosmic worldview. To violate or to
follow cosmic laws is equally bad as both these attitudes relate
to a fallen system, which is based on punishment that causes
fear. The receivers of knowledge instead ought to follow the will
of the Father of truth. The practical behaviour may or may not
coincide with a cosmic code of conduct, but this is irrelevant
for those who pertain to the knowledge of the Father. On this
basis I construe a social setting for the text, and discuss in what
way this effects the interpretation of the general message of the
Gospel of Truth.
22-334 Birger A. Pearson, University of California -Santa
Barbara
The Figure of Seth in the Gospel of Judas
The name “Seth” occurs only twice in the extant text of the
Gospel of Judas. The first occurrence is in a reference to the immortal “generation of Seth” (49,6), from which Judas is explicitly
excluded. “[S]eth the Christ” is a name surprisingly applied to
one of the five archons of chaos (52,4–6). The name “Seth” can
be safely restored at 49,2, and on p. 43 an enigmatic figure can be
safely identified as Seth in a passage that also contains a probable
allusion to Sethian baptism. A possible reference to Seth can also
be seen on p. 57. But Seth is not a prominent figure in the Gospel of Judas. That is because there is no reference to soteriology
at all. The focus of the text is on the arch-villain Judas, who is
fated to join Ialdabaoth in the “thirteenth aeon” and rule over
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the twelve apostles below until the cosmos comes to an end. The
Gospel of Judas is a vehement attack on the apostolic church of
the author’s own time.
22-334 Marvin Meyer, Chapman University
A Report on Newly Discovered Fragments of Codex Tchacos
The current fragmentary state of the Tchacos Codex has frustrated scholars in our attempts to create authoritative critical
editions. This brief report from Marvin Meyer and Gregor Wurst
outlines the latest news on additional fragments from the Codex
Tchacos, their status, and implications for the field.
22-335 Frank Polak, Tel Aviv University
Language Variation, Stylistics and the Status of Biblical Narrative from the Babylonian-Persian Periods
Language variation has many faces, including the diglossic tension between the reigning literary and administrative registers
(official Hebrew), and regional/local variants. Literary and administrative registers are attested in epigraphic Hebrew and
Moabite. Biblical Hebrew comprises various registers, including
the cultic sociolect, poetic and literary prose language. In this
many-faceted variability diachronic variance could be viewed as
one amongst many causes of diversity (Young 2003, 2005). However, the Babylonian and later Persian conquest and domination
of Judea-Yehud and the exile (Pearce 2006) cannot be regarded as
causes of simple diachronic variation. These political vicissitudes
entail dramatic changes in society, and in particular affect the
function and status of the official scribes, and thereby the maintenance of official/literary Hebrew, as witnessed by the Persian
and Aramaic elements of administrative terminology evidenced
by biblical texts from the Persian era (Eskhult 2003; Polak 2006).
By implication we must expect changes in the position of the
local/regional vernacular, in accordance with some elements in
Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah (Polak 2006). Analysis of the
influence of regional language on the standard language (Young
2003, 2008) requires a meticulous methodology in order to
keep different tendencies apart and to perceive subtle distinctions. The stylistic study of biblical narrative involves a variety
of aspects and levels, such as subject matter, tone, rhetorical design, expressivity. In spite of this variability selection of samples
with similar topic enables us to discern specific characteristics
of different corpora (Persian era; overtly Deuteronomy-related;
unaffiliated), regarding noun groups, hypotaxis and syntactic
elaborateness. Analysis in these terms relates these corpora to
different socio-cultural and historical contexts. These methods
will be demonstrated by means of Fortschreibung and Jonah
narrative.
22-335 John A. Cook, Asbury Theological Seminary
Detecting Development in Biblical Hebrew using Diachronic
Typology
The Hebrew verbal system provides some of the most obvious
examples of diachronic linguistic change in the language. For
example, it is indisputable that there are a variety of diachronically attributable differences between Hebrew’s progenitor, the
Canaanite verbal system evidenced in the Amarna correspondences, and the verbal system in the Hebrew Bible. Likewise,
diachronic differences are readily evident between the Biblical
Hebrew verbal system and the verbal system encountered in
the Mishna. Studies of the Hebrew verbal system have posited
a variety of changes as diachronic within the limited scope of
the biblical corpus itself (e.g., Joosten, Eskhult). However, some
scholars have recently argued that because we lack a sufficient
body of “control data,” these observed differences in verbal syntax and/or semantics are susceptible to other explanations, such
as dialectal variation. An alternative sort of control might be set
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up. In this paper I argue that diachronic typology provides us
with a sufficient framework and set of control data to enable us
to evaluate verbal syntax/semantic diversity within the biblical
text as diachronically relevant or not. Diachronic typology views
language states as dynamic, or in a state of flux, and therefore it is
interested in documenting not only what sorts of “states” might
exist in human language, but typical transitions between states.
With respect to verbal systems, diachronic typology and the
sub-discipline of grammaticalization studies have documented
a high degree of uniformity with respect to how verbal systems
develop over time, enabling us to relatively date some syntactic/
semantic divergences in the Hebrew of the Bible as well as to hypothesize about the sorts of shifts in structure and meaning that
we might expect to find in relatively earlier or later writings.
22-335 A. Dean Forbes, Andersen-Forbes.org
Dwelling on Spelling
Though not part of linguistics, spelling practices come along for
the “text transmission ride.” This paper, based on data generated
by Francis Andersen and the presenter, will illustrate how spelling may be used as a significant criterion to date either complete
books or sections of biblical books. I will begin by casting the
problem of accounting for the characteristics of biblical Hebrew
text portions in terms of Doležel’s “framework for the statistical
analysis of style” and briefly catalog pitfalls that await analysts. I
will then restrict my focus to the distribution of plene/defectivi
spellings across the text portions making up the Hebrew Bible,
illustrating the potentially debilitating implications of copying
errors for successful analyses. After introducing two factors that
can condition spelling choice (“vowel type” and “stress level”),
I will informally discuss ways of seeking additional factors that
are correlated with spelling choice. This will be followed by a
presentation of the results of four distinct analyses: 1) spelling in
parallel text portions within given books, 2) spelling in parallel
text portions from different books, 3) clustering of text portions,
4) seriation/ordination of text portions.
22-335 Shalom M. Paul, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
An Intermediate Lexical Link Between Classical And Late Biblical Hebrew
It is widely recognized (though recently debated) that the sixth
century B.C.E. marked a significant turning point in the history
of Biblical Hebrew from EBH to LBH. This diachronic development, reflected in the lexicon and syntax, is based primarily on
material drawn from from books composed in the Persian period. However, in the course of writing my commentary on Isaiah
40–66, whose prophecies are dated to the exilic and early pre-exilic periods, I discovered that distinctive late lexical features had
already began to make their appearance in these chapters. These
innovations may be considered representative of an intermediate link between EBH and LBH.
22-335 Jan Joosten, Marc Bloch University, Strasbourg,
France
The Evolution of Literary Hebrew in Biblical Times: The Evidence
of “Pseudo-classicisms”
Natural evolution of languages first takes place in speech, affecting literature only secondarily. Literary writing typically
resists changes occurring in the spoken language, incorporating
them only when they have become entirely systematic. In light
of this, the similarity between “Late Biblical Hebrew” and the
language of the Pentateuch and Former Prophets should not be
interpreted to indicate that the entire Hebrew Bible was written
in the Second Temple period. Later authors may be expected to
continue the literary models of earlier writings, particularly if
those writings were considered authoritative. If “Late Biblical
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Hebrew” can be shown to be late, in spite of the conservatism
of the literary tradition, it is because of tell-tale differences between the corpora involved. In some cases, earlier modes of
expression that had become incomprehensible were abandoned
and replaced by later modes of expression (e.g., earlier shesh is
replaced by later buts, “byssus”). In other cases, later modes of
expression were used inadvertently instead of earlier ones (e.g.,
ratson is used with the later meaning “will”; or, in the domain
of syntax, weyiqtol replaces weqatal in non-volitive sentences).
Another type of difference occurs when a late author borrows an
expression from earlier texts while using it in a way that shows
he didn’t understand it correctly. Several possible instances of
this phenomenon in the LBH corpus will be discussed. They
tend to show that the type of Hebrew used in the Pentateuch and
Former Prophets was already to some extent a “dead language”
for the authors of the Persian period: a language no longer spoken, known only from ancient texts.
22-336 Erik Waaler , NLA School of Religion, Pedagogics
and Intercultural Studies
The Complete Text of Ketef Hinnom 1: A New and Tentative
Reading of the Amulet.
This study is based on the latest digital photos of the text. A new
reading is suggested for line 0–4, 7, 18. The new readings are
based on a combination of more specific interpretation of earlier
identified characters, the identification of new characters with
all or most of the traces intact, the identification of traces of other characters that are more uncertain, and reconstructions based
on the new characters, parallels to other amulets and to other
ancient Hebrew texts, etc. The point of departure was a new
reading of the end of line one. This finding, and the identification
of one particular character in line two, helped the reconstruction of this line. Then line three was reconstructed based on the
identification of at least one new letter and the reinterpretation
of another. Based on these data line 0 has been reconstructed
partially. A similar reconstruction has been done in line 7, and
in the last part of line 18. Thus a comprehensive reconstruction
is provided that identifies a very tentative full text of Ketef Hinnom amulet 1, from its beginning until it breaks of in the middle
of the priestly benediction. This leads to a discussion of the relationship between the amulet and the Old Testament text.
22-336 Stefan Wimmer, Ludwig-Maximilian-University
Munich
Hebrew Hieratic: The Palaeography of Hieratic Numerals and
Special Signs in Iron Age Hebrew Inscriptions
The Palaeo-Hebrew alphabetic script of pre-exilic times made
ample use of special, non-alphabetic signs for numerals and
measures for capacities and weights. It has since long been accepted that these signs are identical with or derived from the
Egyptian Hieratic cursive script, but the phenomenon was never
analysed in a comprehensive way, covering all known sources,
from the perspectives of both Northwest Semitic and Egyptian
epigraphy. In addition to the better known ostraca from Qadesh Barnea (Ayn Qudeirat), Arad, and Samaria, more than 200
sources-ostraca, inscribed vessels, seals, weights, and various
inscribed objects-serve as a basis for a thorough palaeographic
analysis by the proponant. The presentation will evaluate the
origin and development of this peculiar writing tradition, and
place it in the context of intercultural and political interrelations
in the Ancient Near East, specifically between Juda, Israel and
Egypt.
22-336 Philip C. Schmitz, Eastern Michigan University
Phoenician-Punic rh˙ ‘Spirit’: A Cognitive Inquiry
The noun rh˙ (pl. rh˙t) is attested in several Punic inscriptions,
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particularly in the expression špt† brh˙, a clause that appears to
refer to spiritual judgment in contexts that imply condemnation.
The author will point out two additional occurrences of rh˙ in a
Punic inscription written on a lead sheet found in a Carthage
tomb more than a century ago. Employing the notion of conceptual metaphor and the cognitive-linguistic theory of conceptual
integration, the author will investigate the semantic range of the
concept ‘spirit’ in Phoenician-Punic and seek analogies with
cognates in other Semitic languages.
22-336 Christopher A. Rollston, Emmanuel School of
Religion
The Forthcoming “Epigraphic Handbook: Iron Age Northwest
Semitic Inscriptions”
Rollston is authoring a new, and different, epigraphic handbook of Northwest Semitic (Eerdmans, forthcoming). The new
handbook is intended to be a teaching and research manual
and will focus on the Iron Age linear alphabetic epigraphic corpus, especially Phoenician, Old Hebrew, Aramaic, Ammonite,
and Moabite. For each of these languages and scripts, there
will be a large selection of extant texts (with digital drawings
and high quality photographic images), discussions of phonological isoglosses, distinctive orthographic conventions (and the
diachronic development of orthographic practices within each
language), as well as descriptions of the diagnostic aspects of
each script (and diachronic palaeographic development for each
script). This presentation will provide samples of the handbook’s
contents, documenting its salient features.
22-336 Kyle R. Greenwood, Colorado Christian University
King for a Day: Reconsidering Royal Rights to a Middle Assyrian
Cult Pedestal
To date, two cult pedestals dating to the Middle Assyrian period have been excavated. The more familiar of the two is the
so-called Nusku Pedestal of Tukulti-Ninurta I. The second pedestal is actually anonymous, but it is generally assumed that the
royal figure on the pedestal is Tukulti-Ninurta, and there is good
reason to believe so. However, due to numerous differences between the pedestals, it is worth reconsidering whether the king
of the anonymous pedestal is identical to the king of the Nusku
pedestal. This paper attempts to demonstrate that the iconography of the anonymous cult pedestal fits better into the historical
context of the annals of Tiglath-pileser I, rather than those of
Tukulti-Ninurta I.
22-337 Matthew V. Novenson, Princeton Theological
Seminary
Iesous Christos in Paul: Proper Names, Titles, and Other Ancient
Ways of Naming
One of the classic questions of Pauline interpretation is whether the apostle uses the word Christos as a proper name (“Jesus
Christ”) or as a title (“Jesus, the Messiah”). A sizeable majority of modern interpreters, championed by Nils A. Dahl, have
ruled in favor of nominal usage, while a minority report, recently represented by N. T. Wright, argues for titular usage instead.
Yet, apart from a few cautionary footnotes, both sides agree
that “name” and “title” jointly exhaust the available categories
for solving the problem. But, as the ongoing Lexicon of Greek
Proper Names project (LGPN; formerly under the auspices of
the British Academy, now at the University of Oxford) is making
increasingly clear, Greek naming conventions in the Hellenistic
and Roman periods were considerably more varied than this, including at least given names (simple and compound, secular and
theophoric), nicknames, patronymics, ethnics, demotics, titles,
and honorifics. While the diverse Pauline usage of Christos cannot be collapsed into a single ancient onomastic category, in the
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case of the problematic “double name” formula (Iesous Christos or Christos Iesous it appears that Paul uses Christos in the
manner of an honorific, like those taken by the Hellenistic kings
(e.g., Ptolemy Euergetes, Antiochus Epiphanes) and later by the
Roman emperors (e.g., Caesar Augustus). This hypothesis accounts for both the apparently nominal features of Pauline usage
as well as the apparently titular ones, and does so by appealing to
onomastic conventions known to Paul himself.
22-337 Leif E. Vaage, University of Toronto
Paul’s Singleness
As Paul describes himself in 1 Corinthians 7:8 he was a single
man; his social condition, equivalent to that of “the unmarried
and the widowed.” Although Paul otherwise refused to speak
against marriage and, indeed, argues more than once in 1 Corinthians 7 against extraordinary efforts to resist the conjugal
condition (7:2, 9), including regular sexual intercourse (7:5),
Paul left little doubt about his own personal preference for a
single “sex-free” life. Nonetheless, commentators since Clement of Alexandria in the second century C.E. have tried hard
to make him either still a married man or at least once upon a
time such a person, who now would be a widower. The scholarly arguments in favour of either view, however, not only fail to
persuade but, more significantly, reveal a range of contemporary
cultural concerns apparently unsettled by the prospect of committed singleness on Paul’s part. Not the least of these concerns
has to do with the implications of such a stance for Christian
thinking about the family and human sexuality. Equally disturbing, however, seems to be what this singleness would imply for
Paul’s social status, including masculinity, as well as the kind of
Jew it would make him out to have been. In this paper, I will
explore both the ancient evidence for Paul’s singleness and the
modern anxieties this topic routinely raises. In the end, I hope to
demonstrate through this example the strong link between specific biographical issues and the general interpretation of Paul’s
discourse.
22-337 Mark D. Nanos, Rockhurst University/University of
Kansas
Did Paul Observe Torah in Light of His Strategy ‘to Become
Everything to Everyone’ (1 Corinthians 9:19–23)?
Interpreters of Paul almost unanimously declare that Paul did
not observe Torah as an expression of faith. Instead, he championed freedom from it—except when mimicking observant Jews
in order to evangelize among them. The few interpreters who
propose that for Paul to remain a Jew in any meaningful way he
must have behaved like a Jew, temper their assessments of Paul’s
observation of Torah because of his stated policy of adaptability
to win those “under law” as well as the anomos (“lawless,” often
translated “without law,” usually understood to signify nonJews). This paper explores whether Paul can be understood here
to instead argue along a line witnessed in a philosophical tradition interpreting Odysseus as a polytrope rather than a deceiver.
In this direction, 1 Cor 9:19–23 can be read by an audience
knowing Paul to be Torah-observant, and yet one who seeks to
relate the presentation of his message to non-Jewish as well as
Jewish audiences without compromising Torah, or deceiving
his audiences about the meaning of the message he proclaims.
Just such an interpretation of Paul’s rhetorical strategy arises in
Acts 17, when Paul preaches among the philosophers in Athens.
This approach to Paul’s message in 9:19–23 is also relevant to
the interpretation of his primary discussion in chapters 8—10
concerning the subject of the “knowledgeable” ones (not) eating
idol food in Corinth, in the midst of which it appears.
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22-337 Beth M. Sheppard, Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary
Drinking the Spirit: Potions, Medicine, Healing and 1st Corinthians 12: 12–26
Although Hans Conzelmann and others have explored Paul’s
description of the body and its parts in relation both to other
Greco- Roman texts in which this common metaphor appears
and in conjunction with the practice of leaving votive statues
at the healing shrines of the pagan gods, the passage may also
be examined from the perspective of ancient medical practices
themselves. Indeed, Paul’s concerns about the community’s understanding of spiritual gifts, in which healing is included and is
specifically mentioned in 12:9 and 12:30, help to frame his use
of the body metaphor. Thus the allusion to believers being made
to drink the Spirit in verse 13, though commonly described as
a reference to baptism or drinking the Eucharistic cup, can be
fleshed out against the backdrop of the ancient medical arts. The
writings of Aelius Aristides who constantly sought cures for a
number of maladies and was a devotee of Aesculapius, injunctions that physicians were not to administer harmful potions to
their patients, and Galen’s disputes over venesection relating to
the role of p?e?µa in the blood will all be considered. Indeed, the
assertion will be made that while Paul’s use of the body metaphor
provides a key to his understanding of the church as an organic
community, it also underscores the idea of spiritual well-being
as a developmental process.
22-337 David Briones, Durham University
Paul’s Intentional ‘Thankless Thanks’ in Philippians 4:10–20
Philippians 4:10–20 has been coined the ‘Thankless Thanks’
(danklose Danke), largely because this pericope lacks the verb
eucharistein and its cognates, indicating a hesitancy on Paul’s
part to render thanks directly to the Philippians for their gifts.
G.W. Peterman attempts to explain the absence of a direct
word of thanks by appealing to the social conventions of verbal
gratitude found in non-literary papyri. He concludes that Phil.
4:10–20 is in line with ‘the Thankless Thanks’ practiced in the
first century Greco-Roman world, in which verbal gratitude was
withheld among socially inimate friends. I argue, however, that
this text, far from being an subliminal thanks among personal
friends, actually reflects the conventions of a patron-brokerclient relationship, whereby the patron, not the broker, solely
received thanks for meeting the needs of the client. In like manner, Paul, as the recipient of gifts (i.e., client), refuses to render
thanks to the Philippians because they function as brokers, while
God, as the patron, must receive all thanks, glory, and honor
(4:19–20). A characteristic pattern of exchange, as can be seen
in 2 Cor. 8–9, and could, in part, explain why Paul highlights
God’s role as the patron by rhetoricizing the Philippians’ gifts to
him into ‘a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God’(4:18). Thus, by the application of the cultural model
of brokerage, the reason for Paul’s reluctance to gives thanks in
Phil. 4:10–20 may be uncovered.
22-338 Max Rogland, Erskine Theological Seminary
Did Moses Take a Tent? Re-reading the Verb Forms in Exodus
33.7–11 and Their Significance for the Golden Calf Episode
The short perciope concerning Moses’ setting up of a tent outside
of the Israelites’ camp (Exodus 33.7–11) occurs abruptly within
its context and has been viewed by many scholars as an intrusion into the text. The use of yiqtol and weqatal verbal forms in a
narrative setting would seem to indicate that this had been a repeated, habitual activity on Moses’ part, yet this reading creates
significant historical, exegetical, and source-critical tensions,
making the textual unit extremely difficult to integrate into a
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coherent interpretation of the Golden Calf episode which surrounds it. This paper presents a grammatical re-analysis of the
verb forms used in Exodus 33.7–11, arguing that they should be
understood as having an injunctive force. In other words, rather
than being a description of Moses’ repeated actions involving
a tent, this pericope contains directions for Moses to establish
a tent outside of the camp as a result of the Israelites’ sin. The
paper then demonstrates how this reinterpretation of the verb
forms provides a more satisfying reading of the pericope within
the larger narrative unit of Exodus 32–34.
22-338 Eve Levavi Feinstein, Harvard University
Two Priestly Texts on Land Pollution
This paper discusses the relationship between two priestly texts
on land pollution: Lev 18:24–30 and Num 35:33–34. Leviticus
18:24–30, which appears in the Holiness Code, describes the
pollution of the promised land as a result of sexual transgression.
Numbers 35:33–34, traditionally attributed to P, uses similar
language to describe the pollution of the land by the blood of
slain innocents. Israel Knohl and his followers regard these similarities as one piece of evidence for the activity of the Holiness
School beyond the Holiness Code itself. As I shall argue, however, the two texts are based on distinct and mutually exclusive
metaphorical constructs. Leviticus 18:24–30 personifies the
land as a female whose behavior reflects that of her inhabitants,
a metaphor that lies behind Lev 19:29 as well as Deut 24:4 and
Jer 3:1. Numbers 35:33–34, on the other hand, is based on an
analogy between land and sanctuary and grounds the land’s sensitivity to pollution in the fact that the Deity resides there. This
latter idea is dependent on the presence of the Israelite cult in
the land and is therefore in conflict with Leviticus 18, which uses
the idea of land pollution to explain the expulsion of Canaan’s
previous inhabitants. This analysis raises questions about the use
of language and theology to determine the relationship between
biblical texts in general and between P and H in particular.
22-338 Juha Pakkala, University of Helsinki
The Date of the Oldest Edition of Deuteronomy
There are several reasons to assume that the oldest edition of
Deuteronomy is essentially of post-586 BCE in origin. Especially the oldest text of Deut 12, generally assumed to be the core of
the Urdeuteronomium, can only have been written in a context
where there was no temple, state or monarch, but other parts
of the Urdeuteronomium, as far as it can be reconstructed, also
reveal features that imply a late origin. This paper does not go so
far as to offer a precise context for the Urdeuteronomium, but it
merely argues that the time of Josiah or any other time during
the monarchy is improbable.
22-338 Stefan Schorch, Kirchliche Hochschule Bethel
The Altar Law in Deuteronomy 27:4–8, and the Problem of the
Origin and the Literary Transmission of Deuteronomy
The altar law Deut 27:4–8 commands Israel to build an altar and
to offer offerings on it after crossing the Jordan and entering the
Holy Land. From a synchronic literary perspective, this text has
clear links with the centralization law in Deut 12 and seems to aim
at literary correspondence and even fulfillment to the demands
expressed in Deut 12. Accordingly, Deut 27:4–8 obviously stands
in concurrence with traditions and Biblical passages which attribute the fulfillment of Deut 12 to other places and especially
to Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:16; Ps 78:60–68 etc.). In the exegesis of
the Book of Deuteronomy, this problem often has been tried to
solve by attributing Deut 27 to a late literary layer, dating to the
Hellenistic period. This paper will demonstrate the philological,
literary and methodological problems associated with this solution and it will suggest a different approach, according to which
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Deut 27:4–8 predates the textual identification(s) of Jerusalem
as the chosen place of Deut 12. Finally, it will present a reconstruction of the different literary strategies which were applied
throughout the transmission of Deuteronomy in order to create
a clear literary focus on Jerusalem as the chosen place.
22-339 Sarah Rollens, University of Toronto
The Representative Potential of the Q Document
Reconstructing the community or the group of people who produced the Q document is a relatively new venture in modern
scholarship on Christian origins. However, each attempted reconstruction carries an implicit assumption about the nature
and representative potential of the document. In this paper, I examine the salient debate about the nature and essence of religion
between Talal Asad and Clifford Geertz to clarify the theoretical
approaches taken by scholars in their reconstructions of the Q
community. Geertz argued for a universal definition of religion
as a symbolic system; thus, there is something essentially “religious” that can be read within texts. Asad conversely insisted
that each seemingly “universal” definition of religion is the
product of a specific historical period and emphasized the role
of power in creating and maintaining religious discourse. I argue
that scholarship on Q often implicitly presupposes these theoretical approaches. Some scholars adopt Geertz’s standpoint and
view Q as a symbolic, religious text, while some adopt Asad’s
standpoint and understand Q as an exercise of intellectual power and myth-making, perhaps in no way essentially religious at
all. These are vital questions when one presses the Q document
for its representative potential: because the authors of the gospels of Matthew and Luke later appropriated it, Q has signaled
to some scholars that there must be something religiously significant within it. I demonstrate that both approaches to Q have
merit. However, we must recognize that presuppositions about
the category of religion dictate the scholar’s understanding of the
nature of the Q document and so shape the conclusions about
the representative potential of the text.
22-339 Kristian Bendoraitis, Durham University
More Than a Predilection: Father in Heaven and Angels of God
in Q 12:8–9
In the Q saying of Matt 10:32–33 and Luke 12:8–9, those who
acknowledge and deny Jesus before those on earth will be acknowledged and denied reciprocally in heaven. While Matthew
indicates that Jesus will be before his ‘Father in heaven,’ Luke
expresses that this same action will be executed before ‘angels of
God.’ Relying on source and form criticism, many interpreters
have often dismissed this major difference between Matthew and
Luke as evidence of Matthew’s predilection for Father in Heaven.
However, such suggestions do not answer why Matthew omitted this reference to angels when this is the only occasion they
are omitted from a shared source. Consequently, this paper will
show that the relationship between Q and Matthew goes beyond
favorite phrases by investigating the contributions this redaction
makes to Matthew’s gospel narrative in light of similar judgment
traditions, editorial tendencies, and the debate surrounding the
significance of Matthew’s ‘I’ and Luke’s ‘Son of Man.’ As a result,
it is proposed that Matthew’s redactional changes demonstrate a
shift in focus to the role of the Son of Man as eschatological judge
and that of his accompanying angels. Simultaneously, Matthew’s
use of ‘Father in heaven’ in Matt 10:32–33 strengthens the narrative value of the relationship between Jesus, the Father, and the
disciples in Matt 10, a result that might not have been possible
had the text resembled Luke 12:8–9, with ‘angels of God.’
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22-339 Christoph Heil, Universität Graz
Armin D. Baum on Orality, the Synoptic Problem and Q: A Critical Review
Over the last decade Armin D. Baum has published a considerable number of essays on orality and the Synoptic Problem. His
observations and results are now presented and summarized in
his book “Der muendliche Faktor und seine Bedeutung fuer die
synoptische Frage” (TANZ 49; Tübingen: Francke, 2008). After considering ancient analogies of the Synoptic Problem (the
redaction of sources in the Hebrew Bible, in Josephus, and in
the Alexander romance), experimental psychological memory
research, “Oral Poetry” studies and analogies from the Rabbinic
tradition, Baum concludes “that the whole synoptic tradition
could be stored by human memory, could be carried as well as
preserved by oral tradition and was particularly well-suited to
such a process” (p. 405–6). He accepts the priority of Mark, although in his view Matthew and Luke did not use Mark. Rather,
all three Synoptic gospel authors “drew independently ... of
each other from the same oral source” (p. 417). Thus the Minor
Agreements “are a natural characteristic of oral versions of the
same text” (p. 410), and a Q document did not exist. The paper
will present Baum’s main points and arguments in their context
of recent studies of orality, the Synoptic Problem and Q (Horsley, Byrskog, Dunn, Mournet et al.). Then it will be asked where
Baum has identified new and important areas of research and
where the evidence weighs against him.
22-340 Herbert Berg, University of North Carolina at
Wilmington
Early African American Muslims and the Figure of Jesus: Drew
Ali’s and Elijah Muhammad’s Formulations of an unIslamic
Muslim Jesus
Both Noble Drew Ali (founder of the Moorish Science Temple)
and the Elijah Muhammad (the leader of the Nation of Islam for
four decades) devoted significant attention to the story of Jesus.
Surprisingly, he figured far more prominently in their writings
than did Muhammad. Even more surprisingly, a comparison of
those stories with the stories of Jesus in the Qur’an and the Bible
reveals that both Drew Ali and Elijah Muhammad felt no need
to conform to these traditional accounts. Their primary goal was
to refashion the figure of Jesus to fit their racialist mythology.
Drew Ali merely sought to make Jesus “Asiatic” in order to demonstrate that African Americans should abandon the racially
inappropriate religion of Christianity. Elijah Muhammad, who
self-identified himself as a Muslim far more and was well-versed
in the Qur’an, did not adopt or even adapt much of the Qur’an’s
own reinterpretation of the biblical Jesus. He even ignored its
key claim that Jesus was not crucified. Ironically, he was much
more ambivalent with the traditional Christian understanding
of Jesus; while seemingly ignoring the biblical accounts, he constantly alluded to them in order to undermine them. His story of
Jesus served as a parable for the evilness of the “white devil” and
the futility and danger of Christianity for African Americans.
22-340 Franz Volker Greifenhagen, Luther College, University of Regina
Scripture Wars: Contemporary Polemical Discourses of Bible
Versus Qur’An on the Internet
While students are rightfully warned against using internet sites
as reliable scholarly sources, the internet is fast becoming the
default option for people in general who wish to locate information quickly and efficiently. But, because of its unregulated
nature, the internet is full of polemical discourses, not least in the
area of religion. Rather than ignoring these discourses because
of their acutely biased perspectives and sectarian purposes, this
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paper argues that it is necessary to analyze these discourses, to
categorize and characterize them, and to begin to formulate the
rules and structures that produce them. It is especially important to attend to the explicit and implicit practices of exclusion
around which these discourses are organized. To this end, this
paper begins the process of describing, categorizing and characterizing online polemical sources dealing with the Qu’ran and
the Bible in relation to each other, paying attention to recurring
themes and sources. In particular, this paper focuses on scriptural passages from both the Bible and the Qur’an that appear
repeatedly in this polemical discourse, the hermeneutical presuppositions behind their use, and the possible effects of the use
of these passages in online polemic on teaching and scholarship
on the Bible and the Qur’an in the academy. Since a single paper
cannot provide a comprehensive overview of the online scriptures wars between the Bible and the Qur’an, this paper will deal
predominantly with the polemical discourses on the popular
websites answering-islam.org and answering-christianity.com.
22-341 Jorunn J. Buckley, Bowdoin College
Mandaean-Sethian Baptism Connections
Taking up Kurt Rudolph’s 1975 call for investigations of Mandaeism’s relationship to the Nag Hammadi texts, I use various
Mandaean sources in order to address the question: what are the
connections between the baptism-related role of the Mandaean
Seth figure (i. e. Shitil) and baptism-information in the Sethian
traditions especially as found in the Nag Hammadi texts The
Gospel of the Egyptians, The Apocalypse of Adam, and Tripartite
Protennoia? I deal with the research on Sethianism by J. Turner
and B. Pearson and including a severe criticism of J.-M. Sevrin’s
unhelpfully dualistic frame of interpretation in his Le dossier
baptismal sethien (1986). An outline of the Mandaean baptism
is presented, and emphasis placed on the religion’s complex and
large baptism liturgy—larger than any such liturgy known in
the ancient world. Christianity is sorely lacking in this respect—
outdone by the Gnostics: Mandaeans and Sethians. Attention
is paid to: the anti-dualism in the baptism ritual(s); stagnant/
flowing water; Seth as baptizer, teacher and virgin; patterns of
ascent=descent; these patterns’ linkage with enlightenment, visions and death; liturgical information in the mentioned Nag
Hammadi texts, and the lack of Christian identity in Mandaeism
and, initially, in Sethianism. I suggest that both forms of Gnosticism were involved in the discussions on baptism related to the
Gospel of John. Mandaeism’s international character is stressed
in terms of ritual, myths and geography (Silk Road network location in the early first century!). Sethian Gnosticism may be
a younger sibling of Mandaeism. My essay marks a beginning
in sorting out the mythological and ritual connections between
Gnostic branches with regard to baptism.
22-341 Jennifer Hart, Whitman College
One Woman, Four Traditions: The Convergence of Mandaeism,
Islam, Judaism and Christianity in the Character of Miriai
Mandaean depictions of Miriai offer a fascinating study of the
use of hibridity to construct religious identity in the pluralistic
environment of late antiquity. Most likely based on elaborations
on apocryphal Christian stories about Mary the mother of Jesus,
Mandaean literature tells us that Miriai was a young Jewish girl
who to the distress of the Jewish priesthood converted to Mandaeism and became a paradigmatic practitioner of Mandaean
religion. Traditionally thought to be a product of Mandaeism’s
relationship to Judaism and Christianity a closer analysis of
the Miriai narratives reveals instead that these tales function a
means to express a Mandaean sense of religious identity in a way
that places Mandaeism in dialogue with Islam. The character of
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Miriai outlines for Mandaeans an ideal model of religious belief
and devotion. At the same time the particulars of Miriai’s story
suggest that the Mandaeans replaced the Jews as a people with
a true connection to divine knowledge in much the same way
that Muslim sources indicate that Islam overtook the religious
prerogative of Judaism. Other aspects of the Mandaean Miriai
mirror Muslim notions of the Christian Mary, as she is described
in Surahs Three and Nineteen of the Qur’an. The Mandaean
Miriai shares with the Qur’anic Mary the characteristics which
allowed the later to be counted by Muslims as one of the four
best and holiest members of womankind. The parallels between
Miriai and Mary imply that Miriai, whom the Mandaeans count
as a leading representative of their faith, is in fact among the
most revered women in Islam. Miriai presents a locus in which
references to Judaism and Christianity combine to produce an
understanding of Mandaeism that addresses the inner theological struggles of the tradition while creating an exterior image of
Mandaeism that responds to the religious sensibilities of Islam.
22-341 Edwin K. Broadhead, Berea College
Is There a Demarcation of Jewish Christians in Third Century
Persia?
Patristic writers describe ancient Jewish Christians such as
Nazarenes and Ebionites, but the historical profile and the interrelationship of such groups are muddled by patristic heresiology
and by repetitive and inconsistent reports. Ironically, a clear
demarcation of the Nazarenes as a distinct form of Christianity might be found in a third century inscription from Persia.
Following the victories of Shabor I, the high priest Katir leads a
purge of foreign religious influences and a revival of Zorastrianism. In an inscription placed below the tomb of Darius, Kartir
lists among those purged two distinct groups: Greek-speaking
Christians and Aramaic-speaking Nazarenes. This distinction
might be relevant in subsequent conflicts among Christians
exiled in Persia. If such a demarcation of Jewish Christians in
Persia exists, this would shed helpful light on specific rabbinic
and patristic references to Jewish Christianity.
22-342 James McConnell, Baylor University
The Topos of Divine Testimony through Deeds in Plutarch’s Lives
and Luke/Acts
In his work Topica, Cicero describes a topos available to the orator which he terms “divine testimony.” According to Cicero, the
witness of the gods is the most reliable form of testimony available to one arguing a case; further, the gods testify both through
utterances (oracles) and deeds, which include various signs and
portents in nature, dreams, sounds and fire from heaven, and
the entrails of sacrificial animals. Given this background, this
paper will explore both Plutarch’s Lives and Luke/Acts in order
to analyze potential instances of divine testimony through deeds
in these works. The paper first analyzes the Lives, arguing that
it is through these deeds that the gods place their stamp of approval (or disapproval) on the actions of those whom Plutarch
is describing, which in turn provides Plutarch’s readers with insights into the character of his heroes, giving them models of
virtue and vice to emulate or avoid. The paper then turns to the
Gospel of Luke (as well as the book of Acts), in order to find examples of the topos of divine testimony through deeds in these
works. These are then compared to those found in the Lives,
and from these comparisons conclusions are drawn concerning
how an ancient audience would have understood the rhetorical use of this topos in the Lives and Luke/Acts. Through this
analysis, this paper attempts to demonstrate that ancient audiences would have understood the instances of divine testimony
through deeds in Plutarch’s Lives and Luke/Acts in related and
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similar ways, primarily as divine legitimation of the characters
in these works.
22-342 Mark A. Matson, Milligan College
John’s Rhetorical Use of Narrative Time
In Paul Ricoeur’s work Time and Narrative, he considers the
poetic act of emplotment as involving at once three aspects of
mimesis: M1 is that aspect which reflects reality, M2 is the truly
creative aspect of imitation which “re-presents” reality within a
poetic form, and M3 involves the rhetorical or persuasive turn
in the muthos (or plot) of a narrative work. In this construction, Ricoeur considers M2 to be critical because it mediates
between the stark imitation of reality (M1), and the intentional
effort of the rhetorical purpose (M3). The creative nature of the
plotting devices, including aspects of narrative time, can thus
be understood as functioning in this mediating role. Narrative
time, including duration and point of view or perspective, is an
essential feature by which an author represents (or re-presents)
a view of the world. The interplay of these elements of mimesis
is striking in the Gospel of John. Perhaps no other gospel is as
apparent in its rhetorical use of narrative time, both in terms of
constructing events and in the use of varied “points of view” of
narrative time. The construction of the narrative time around
festival seasons, of iterative “signs,” the slow advancement of
time in the discourses, and especially the periodic critical observations by the narrator that are clearly from a post-resurrection
perspective, all indicate a manifest rhetorical objective (“that
you may believe”). At the level of the unfolding drama of the
plot, the Fourth Evangelist has often been seen as highly creative. And indeed John’s developing plot, in which the increasing
conflict between his self-revelation and the opposition of “the
Jews” at once supports the rhetorical purpose of the gospel, and
yet also presents a reality which is compelling. In this paper I explore, under the influence of Ricoeur and Gerard Gennette, how
the 4th Gospel uses narrative time to both create a pleasing and
realistic muthos and to support the rhetorical purpose of the
gospel. In the process I also find support for a relatively unified
and holistic view of the narrative work of the evangelist—that is,
that the overall use of narrative time suggests a consistent poetic
effort.
22-342 Tobias Hägerland, Lund University
Paul’s Elaboration of a Jesus Chreia (1 Corinthians 11:23–34)
Whereas rhetorical criticism of the pre-Pauline tradition in 1
Cor 11 has tended to focus on the function of the unit within
Paul’s larger argument, this paper takes a somewhat different
approach, concentrating more narrowly on the traditional unit
itself and its subsequent elaboration by Paul. The study explores
the possibility of reading 11:26–34 in the light of the chreia
chapter in the Progymnasmata attributed to Hermogenes. It
suggests that, while Paul does not adhere slavishly to the scheme
later to be proposed by Hermogenes, there are significant points
of correspondence between the elaboration patterns in the two
Tarsian authors. Recognition of this may contribute to a more
adequate understanding of what Paul seeks to achieve by some
of his statements in the passage.
22-342 Mark D. Given, Missouri State University
Parenesis and Peroration: The Rhetorical Function of Romans
12:1–15:13
Most historical-critical scholars continue to consider Rom
12:1–15:13 to be primarily parenetic in function, and most
rhetorical-critical scholars follow their lead while also considering some portion of 15:14ff. to be the peroration (peroratio) of
Romans. Both perspectives are misleading and obscure the rhetorical function of 12:1–15:13. This essay will demonstrate that
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12:1–15:13 functions as a suitable peroration for the arguments
of Romans. Failure to recognize this function is the result of
continuing historical-critical confusion about the purpose and
occasion of Romans and rhetorical-critical confusion on the subject of the rhetorical structure (dispositio) of Romans in relation
to its epistolary frame. Many New Testament rhetorical critics
have taken an approach to the analysis of rhetorical structure
that is overly influenced by handbook definitions of the parts of
the discourse and a commonly repeated narrow and misleading definition of the length and function of the peroration. A
more accurate understanding of the flexibility and purposes of
perorations will enable scholars to see why the identification of
12:1–15:13 as the peroration of Romans is quite plausible. Furthermore, an analysis of verbal and structural parallels between
this section, the thesis (propositio) and arguments (probatio) of
Romans will show why this identification is highly likely. Finally,
this analysis will allow a more integrated and persuasive understanding of the purposes of Romans.
22-343 Carl N. Toney, Fuller Theological Seminary
Paul’s Illiterate Reference Letter in 2 Corinthians 3
In 2 Cor 3 Paul presents an apology for his apostolic ministry,
which is not against teaching the Law (or legalism); rather it is
concerned with the proper interpretation of the good Law. The
life-giving Spirit is the only key to proper interpretation, and
which Paul claims is only provided in his ministry. In promoting
this Spirit-providing ministry, Paul’s apology includes several
polemical statements against writing. Thus, his statement that
“the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (3:6) reflects a suspicion of writing (e.g., 1 En. 69.9). Such suspicion is reinforced
by the lack of accountability created in a social setting where
most cannot claim literacy and must be read letters. Literacy was
bound with social status—either the wealthy or those sponsored
by the wealthy (including slaves) would be literate. So, unlike
the opponent’s letters of recommendation, which may have been
recognized by most but the contents would only be read and
conveyed by the literate few, Paul’s text, which was written on
the Corinthians’ hearts was accessible to all and could be read
by all (3:2). Reading each other’s hearts helps to undermine the
status markers within the community of those with the ability
to read the various apostles’ letters verses those who could not.
Paul also may be making a jab against status claims through his
denigrating the letters written on tablets of stone (3:3)—which
clearly conjure images from Exod 31:18 LXX and Ezek 11:19;
36:26–27—which may allude to the self-promoting public stone
inscriptions in Corinth. Paul’s apology would especially appeal
to the weaker members of the Corinthian congregation and
stands in opposition to his opponents who used their letters to
secure their position within the community’s elite. Paul’s experiential appeal to the Spirit and the testimony of the heart/mind
allows his claims to be evaluated by all. With such arguments
Paul envisions a status-free community without an exalted minister like Moses and where every member is equally empower by
God’s Spirit gaining access to his enduring glory.
22-343 Colleen Shantz, Toronto School of Theology
Experiencing Transformation that Was already Underway
Second Corinthians 3–5 is filled with imagery of a glorified,
divine Christ and, more remarkably, with the glorification of
the members of the assemblies. In particular, 2 Cor 3:18 claims
that they were ?metamorphosing into his image from glory to
glory.? Many have assessed the theological significance of eik?nChristology or the Moses traditions that may lie behind Paul?s
thought in chapter 3. This paper takes up instead the possible
experiential sources of Paul?s comment on the transformation
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of the faithful. In particular, I will present the evidence that suggests that Paul experienced more than one vision of a glorified
Christ and that such ecstatic events entailed somatic changes
that he could described as states of glory. The paper draws on
anthropological and neurological studies of religious experience
to show how they help to make sense of Paul?s claim that such
transformation might already be underway before the resurrection of believers. By its very nature such experience produces
not primarily propositional thought, but rather emotional, sensory, and bodily phenomena that are utterly compelling. Thus,
I will argue that both the content of Paul?s religious experience
and the physical/somatic phenomena that comprised it stirred
up a process of reflection that eventually shaped his thinking on
theosis.
22-343 Ben C. Blackwell, Durham University
Becoming ‘Gods’? 2 Corinthians 3:18 and Theosis
In recent years, the Eastern Orthodox doctrine of deification, or
theosis, has become more popular as a soteriological category
for Westerners. Most of the discussion has occurred on the theological level (e.g., with the Finnish Interpretation of Luther), but
more attention is beginning to be placed on biblical texts. Unsatisfactory attention has been given to 2 Corinthians 3.18 although
it is central to the emerging debate. Rather than producing another history of religions investigation of this passage, I explore
to what extent we find here (some of) the essential ingredients of
what later came to be regarded as theosis. After first addressing
preliminary methodological issues associated with this history
of interpretation approach, I then address the passage itself.
Since 3.7–18 serves as an explication of 3.6b, the climax of the
Spirit giving life comes in 3.18. With exegetical problems in each
phrase of 3.18, conclusions based on the verse alone are tentative
at best, and thus the following context is quite important. Lest
Paul give the idea that all believers are simply transformed into
Christ’s image of glory, he qualifies the nature of current existence in 4.7–18 by emphasising participation in Christ’s death as
well as his new life, characterised by inward renewal and physical resurrection. Accordingly, ‘this momentary, light trouble is
producing an eternal weight of glory for us’ (4.17). As a result,
when Paul talks of the Spirit’s work of transforming believers
into the image of Christ, in the current age this image is characterised by both his death and his life. Accordingly, christosis may
be a better description of this glorification process rather than
theosis. However, in this passage we see themes such as participation in divine glory and incorruption by means of the beatific
vision which are central to patristic descriptions of theosis.
22-344 Eszter K. Fuzessy, University of Chicago
The Use of Rhetoric for the Creation of “Rabbinic” Identity in the
Discourse of Rabbinic Literature
We encounter in rabbinic literature a group of texts that portray a dialogue between a Sage and an “Outsider”; someone who
is defined by his not being a Sage (the characters have various
designations such as min, goy, philosopher, m/Matrona, Hadrian). The texts are highly polemical texts (in their form, topic,
function, as well as rhetoric), in which the characters of the
“Outsiders” are used to provide ideal forms and ideal types of
difference, helping to create the image of the “rabbinic” Sage by
contrasting him to what he is not. I regard these dialogues as
texts that portray a transfer in the discourse of rabbinic literature; a transfer from a world of different Hellenistic Judaisms
to the world of “rabbinic” Judaism that considers and portrays
itself as the sole, “normative” form of Judaism. How do the texts
accomplish this task? In this paper I would like focus on the use
of rhetoric in the texts. First of all, I shall determine to what
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extent the texts are confrontational, whether they can be considered as discussions or as debates (a very important aspect of
the rhetoric of these texts). Second, I shall discuss other main
concerns of rhetoric, such as the role of the speaker(s), of the
interlocutor(s), and of the intended audience. I am convinced
that only after careful consideration of the role the speaker(s),
the interlocutor(s), and the intended audience „play” in the
texts is it possible to get to the Sitz im Leben of the texts, that
is, to answer the question why the texts were written in the first
place and then transmitted in rabbinic literature. And last, I shall
show, on the basis of textual examples, how rhetorical tools and
methods were used in the dialogues in order to strenghten the
message of the texts: what makes someone a „rabbinic” Sage and
what differentiates „rabbinic” Judaism from other Judaisms of
late antiquity in the discourse of rabbinic literature.
22-344 Gregg Gardner, Princeton University
Gifts, Charity, and Social Competition in Early Rabbinic Judaism
This paper explores how early rabbinic texts use gifts and gift
giving to portray the rabbinic movement atop the social hierarchy of Roman Galilee. Gifts and gift giving are addressed in early
rabbinic literature’s extended discourse on charity, benefaction,
and poor relief in Tosefta Peah—the third-fourth century legal
work redacted in northern Palestine. A close reading of this text
(esp. ch. 4) suggests that the rabbinic redactors are less concerned
with addressing the needs of the permanent, structural poor (as
they are in Mishnah Peah) and more interested in the temporary, conjunctural poor. In particular, Tosefta Peah imagines the
impoverished as well-born, non-rabbinic Jewish aristocrats who
unexpectedly plunged into poverty. The rabbis then intercede,
as Hillel the Elder and others give the fallen Galilean notables
horses and other items that they had once possessed. Gift giving creates a relationship of dependency between the benefactor
and beneficiary, an imbalanced social dynamic that holds until the initial gift is repaid with a larger counter gift. Failure to
repay carries a loss of prestige; this humiliation reinforces the
shame that the conjunctural poor had already incurred from
their economic decline. As such, Tosefta Peah’s redactors leverage gift giving in order to elevate the rabbinic movement’s social
standing above that of their non-rabbinic competitors in Roman
Galilee. That is, while these texts constitute the bedrock of subsequent Jewish approaches to alleviate poverty, I show that they
were originally formulated to satisfy the late-antique rabbinic
movement’s own cravings for social status.
22-344 Justin M. Glessner, University of British Columbia
‘Telling Signs’ of Virginity in Early Judaism
It is an axiom of contemporary scholarship that virginity is contingent upon cultural, not physiological, criteria, on “standards”
reproduced through the persistence of a number of (often unexamined) assumptions about the (female) body—key among
them, the idea that the body will yield up its secrets to empirical
investigation and study. The hymen is but one sign of virginity
that we attempt to read and to rely on. Yet because of its inherent
instability as a sign, the hymen has been regularly supplemented
by other ‘telling signs’ deriving not only from the ‘scientific’/
medical knowledge of a given time and place, but also from
the domains of folklore, religion and magic. At the same time,
virginity itself operates as much more than a material ‘fact’ of
the body, it is also a ‘telling sign’ of great metaphorical/mythical
power, and capable of generating and representing a whole complex of cultural beliefs. In this study, by focusing on virginity and
its verification, situated in the body but also inextricable from its
social expression, I explore how (female) bodies come to have
meaning in one local site of deployment: early Judaism. While I
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focus my attention on one particular forensic test in rabbinic literature—the ‘wine-cask’ test (b Ket 10b; b Yeb 60b)—my aim is
to shed light upon the mental landscape of early Judaism and its
broader context (geographical/temporal) which both facilitated
the generation of the text discussed and was influenced/reinforced by the concepts expressed in writing. The objective is to
elucidate the wider terrain rather than imposing one, inevitably
simplistic, interpretation upon the significance of the virginity
test within early Jewish discourse. At the same time it is recognized that the meanings and uses of such tests can begin to be
elucidated, albeit as elements within a complex discourse which
ranges from ethnographic to moral to economic concerns.
22-345 Jon L. Berquist, Westminster John Knox Press
Theories of Empire and the Shapes of Resistance
I wish to investigate a particular type of social resistance: the
resistance to empire and imperial domination. How can individuals and communities resist empires? First, we must understand
how empires operate, and how imperial goals and strategies
shape those whom the empire dominates. Biblical scholarship,
however, does not have a unified theory of empire or a single
approach to imperial domination. This paper will examine a
range of different social-scientific understandings of empire,
such as structural-functional, Marxist, world-systems, material,
ideological, and other approaches. Using these different theories of empire, we will explore the possible shapes of resistance,
and consider how these types of resistance might have operated
within ancient Israel and may be reflected within extant texts.
Disentangling these types of resistance can help biblical scholarship find greater clarity about its claims of resistance within
Yehud and other ancient imperial settings.
22-345 Gale A. Yee, Episcopal Divinity School
‘Take this Child and Suckle it for Me’: Wet Nurses and Resistance
in Ancient Israel
Exodus 1–2 is a story of three marginalized groups: slaves, midwives, and wet nurses. The first two groups come readily to mind
when considering Exodus 1–2. Slaves are prominent, of course,
because the chapter deals with the Egyptian pharaoh who, when
threatened by the increasing numbers of Hebrew immigrants,
set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor.
Midwives also are on the forefront of the story, because Exodus
1 is a marvelous narrative about the resistance of two midwives
named Shiphrah and Puah against pharaoh’s genocidal decree
against newborn Hebrew males. However, the social conditions
of wet nurses as a marginalized group do not figure immediately in our collective consciousness when considering Exodus
1–2 or the biblical text as a whole. Through the clever deception
by Moses’ sister, Miriam, Moses was able to be breastfed by his
own mother. The resistance and deception which pushes back
against oppression and genocide in this story ironically reveals
that wet nurses generally do not get to nurse their own children.
What then were the real conditions of wetnurses in antiquity?
Through a socio-historical analysis, this paper will examine the
story about an Egyptian pharaoh’s daughter and her Hebrew
slave wet nurse, to discover the power relations and dynamics in
which an empire exploits enslaved foreign women for the products of their bodies. It will then discuss how the Exodus 1–2 is
an example of resistance literature in its subversion of the usual
social expectations for wetnurses in antiquity.
22-345 Daniel Smith-Christopher, Loyola Marymount
University
“If the Assyrians Come into Our Land…”: Hebrew ‘Machismo’ as
Biblical Resistance Literature in Prophetic Texts
The prophetic literature contains a number of threats directed
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against foreign nations—especially suggestive of a motif of ‘dare’
in the face of international threat. What is the religious and social implications of this kind of threat literature? Is it intended
to answer similar threats (especially in Mesopotamian texts)
directed at them? Is it to embolden resistance? There are clear
comparisons with Assyrian and Babylonian “threat” texts, but
does this suggest an intentional response to such traditions from
aggressors—or a similar function. Of particular interest in this
study is the use of SLM = “peace” as a corollary to the threat
literature (as noted in Micah 5, among others).
22-345 M. Daniel Carroll R., Denver Seminary
Once a Stranger, Always a Stranger? Transnationalism, Immigration, and Old Testament Texts
In the past couple of decades there has been fresh scholarly research into the Exilic and Post-Exilic Periods. This work has
yielded innovative reconsiderations of the social, religious, and
political life of the Jewish communities in Babylon and Persia
and in the province of Yehud. Several also have attempted to coordinate these finds and new perspectives with contemporary
concerns. One such effort is ‘Diasporic Theology,’ whose goals
are to reorient Christian faith away from hegemonic presuppositions about how to think about the theological enterprise and to
reflect on life from within and for present-day communities who
are somehow displaced. Hispanic scholars utilize this approach
in handling the Bible in order to engage the complex issues of
hybridity, assimilation, and religious practices in relationship
to the majority culture. While diasporic studies usually are informed by postmodernist criticism and postcolonial studies,
this essay appeals to the discipline of transnationalism within
cultural anthropology in order to probe these issues from a
different angle and to offer a reading of several Old Testament
texts. The extent of the concerns of transnational studies is very
broad, but this essay will concentrate primarily on the multiple
matters of identity among Hispanic immigrants in the United
States. The biblical text can be appreciated as a valuable source
for self-discovery and confidence within a society that marginalizes, exploits, and persecutes these readers. This study has been
motivated by the author’s own bicultural background and work
with Hispanic immigrants.
22-347 Pheme Perkins, Boston College
Gospel of Thomas Parables and the Synoptic Tradition
The conventional debate over whether Gos. Thom. parables represent earlier forms elaborated in the synoptic traditions or a
later epitomizing dependent upon the synoptic gospels is being
reshaped. This paper will explore the impact of new approaches
to textual variants and oral, performance variants in understanding the parables in Gos. Thom. It finds use of Gos. Thom.
versions as exemplars of the parables tradition earlier than its
synoptic exemplars problematic.
22-347 Mary Ann Beavis, St. Thomas More College
Feminist Parable Interpretation: Retrospect and Prospect
This paper will chart the terrain of feminist parable interpretation, beginning with the question of why interpret the parables
of the synoptic tradition from a feminist perspective. The germinal works of Mary Ann Beavis (_The Lost Coin_, 2002) and
Luise Schottroff (_The Parables of Jesus_, 2006) will be situtated
within the fields of feminist biblical interpretation and parable
studies. The paper will conclude with suggestions for future directions in feminist parable studies.
22-347 Colleen Conway, Seton Hall University
The Synoptic Parables through a Postcolonial Lens
The paper will focus on what postcolonial theory offers to the
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interpretation of the synoptic parables. Moving beyond debates
about the socially revolutionary (or not) character of the parables
in various stages of their deployment, the analysis will highlight
the complexity of the relationship between colonizer and colonized as expressed in parabolic form. In particular, the paper
will focus on Mark 12:1–12 as a parable that positions Rome as
an agent of God’s vindication, even in the midst of a gospel with
clear anti-Roman sentiment.
22-347 Shawn Kelley, Daemen College
Hear Then No More Parables: The Case Against ‘Parable’
Parables have long taken pride of place in the field of New Testament scholarship. They have served a variety of purposes, from
providing a window into the historical Jesus to providing a safe
space for theoretical and methodological experimentation. With
all due respect to my learned parabolic colleagues and to the
innovative and often moving work they have created, I cannot
help but register some objections. This paper deconstructs the
scholarly concept of parable as defined by the formative figures
in the discipline (i.e. Dodd, Funk, Crossan). In particular I wish
to challenge (i) the antithesis between parable and allegory; (ii)
the construction of certain aesthetic values as parabolic; (iii)
the particular construction of poetic, metaphoric and parabolic
language; (iv) the proposed effect of parables upon the consciousness of the hearer (and, by extension, the existentialized view of
consciousness); (v) the proposed relationship between originary
parable and a moribund early church and written Gospel. I argue
that these positions are directly indebted to some of the more
problematic, and racialized, aspects of modern philosophy. They
are indebted, in particular, to the aesthetic ideology that emerged
out of a particular reading of Romanticism, and to a particularly
problematic reading of Martin Heidegger’s extremely problematic philosophy. These two grounds of the category parable (the
aesthetic ideology, Heideggerian existentialism) are ripe for being reworked. The aesthetic ideology, as deconstructed by Paul
de Man, maintains a complex and disturbing relationship to racialized nationalism, anti-Semitism and fascism. Philosophers
have spent the last two decades carefully and patiently tracing the influx of racism and aestheticized nationalism into the
thought of Martin Heidegger, who was himself and overt and
enthusiastic supporter of National Socialism. This quick spin
through categories that make possible the term ‘parable’ forces
me to ask the following question: can the discipline learn to do
without the classically defined category of parable?
22-348 Richard A. Taylor, Dallas Theological Seminary
Porphyry, Politics, and the Peshitta: Syriac Biblical Translation as
Commentary
In this paper I examine manuscript glosses found in Peshitta
Daniel that identify the four empires and the little horn of the
book of Daniel. The origin and date of these notes are evaluated
in light of the early reception history of Porphyry’s exegesis of
the book of Daniel and the patristic counter-exegesis that responded to Porphyry’s views on Daniel.
22-348 Mark W. Scarlata, Cambridge University
Destined to Sin? The Independence of the Peshitta Translation of
Genesis 4.1–8
This paper is an examination of the interpretive techniques employed by the Peshitta translator in Gen. 4.1–8, which reveal a
distinct independence from the Jewish exegetical traditions
found in the Targums and the LXX. With possible suppressed
mythological allusions and syntactic ambiguities, the Hebrew
narrative of the births and offerings of Cain and Abel provides
a complex text to translate. Noting briefly the grammatical and
philological challenges of the MT, this paper will analyze how the
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Syriac translator understood his presumed Hebrew Vorlage and
how he articulates its perceived meaning, which ultimately depicts Cain as a man destined to be ruled over by sin. In an effort
to determine how the Peshitta’s version of Gen. 4.1–8 was understood by latter commentators, we will also analyze the works
of Ephrem and some of the early Syrian fathers. In Gen. 4.1, the
Syriac renders the birth story accurately and avoids any rabbinic
traditions regarding Cain’s satanic origins, while in v. 7 it deviates from the MT and demonstrates Cain’s incapacity to prevail
over sin, which stands in stark contrast to the renderings of the
LXX and the Targums. Whereas the LXX of v. 7 focuses upon
Cain’s cultic transgression, and the Targums highlight the nature
of good works and forgiveness, the Peshitta portrays Cain’s ultimate submission to sin. In v. 8, the lacuna found in the MT offers
an opportunity for expansion in the text and despite the lengthy
theological debate reflected in the Targums, or the interpretive
phrase of the LXX, the Peshitta, again, maintains its independence with its own interpretive addition. With various theories
regarding the possible literary dependence of the Peshitta upon
the Targums or the LXX, we shall discover that the Syriac version of Gen. 4.1–8 preserves a distinctly independent exegetical
tradition where Cain is portrayed as one who will be ruled over
by the sin that lies in wait at the door.
22-348 Sigrid Peterson, University of Pennsylvania
The Early History of the Lady Shamuni
Witold Witakowski has described the medieval development of
the story of Mort(y) Shmuni. I have previously identified, using
source criticism, the central narrative of torture that underlies
a later poem about the Lady Shamuni (Peterson, 2006). Here I
want to present her earliest history, based on the biblical text of
Second Maccabees—dated to about 125 BCE. Syriac preserves a
text (now known as Sixth Maccabees) that is to be dated between
125 BCE and about 100 CE, between 2 Macc and 4 Macc. In it,
the Lady Shamuni speaks to each of her sons in turn. By focusing on the portrayal of Shamuni in earlier Greek literature, we
gain a clearer understanding of her adoption as a Syriac saint.
22-348 Andrew Fincke, University of Pennsylvania
The Relationship between Sixth Macabees and the Psalms of
Solomon
In 2006 Sigrid Peterson’s University of Pennsylvania doctoral
dissertation, “Martha Shamoni: A Jewish Syriac Rhymed Liturgical Poem about the Maccabean Martyrdoms” explored
the nature of a Syriac work published in 1895 by W. E. Barnes
from a manuscript inherited from R. L. Bensly at his death. At
pages 81–82, Peterson cited the Psalms of Solomon as a work of
a similar genre, and in the essay “‘Transgressive’: Meaning and
Implications of ???? in Jewish Syriac Text and Translation” in P.
Flesher et al., Aramaic Studies in Judaism and Early Christianity,
Eisenbrauns forthcoming she explored the similarities. The current paper will examine Peterson’s arguments and suggest that
Psalms of Solomon is actually a critique of Sixth Maccabees.
22-351 David Frankfurter, University of New Hampshire
“I’m Gonna Burn You Alive and Your God Gothos Too!”: Two
Coptic Legends of Righteous Homicide by Monks and Their
Interpretation
Two VI-VII CE Coptic hagiographies, the Panegyric on Macarius of Tkow and the Life of Moses of Abydos, include scenes
of Christian monks’ murdering native Egyptian priests. Read
in light of Libanius’s complaints about monks’ destructiveness
and Shenoute of Atripe’s aggressive anti-heathen sermons, these
scenes might be read as authentic evidence of monks’ homicidal
fanaticism. Yet there are literary reasons to view them instead
as invented for narrative effect, most particularly an Elijah ty●
poloogy that influenced many stories of Egyptian holy men.
Christian homicide is imagined as just riposte to a heathen order that is, in legendary terms, equated with violence. In the end,
it is dubious that monks’ violence against native Mediterranean
religions extended much beyond iconoclasm.
22-351 Erik W. Kolb, Catholic University of America
Punishments Human and Divine: Contested Violence in Late
Antique Egyptian Monasticism
Historiography on Shenoute, the long-serving leader of the
White Monastery Federation in late antique Upper Egypt, has
often portrayed him as a violent, abusive, and unsophisticated
monk. Recent scholarship has done much to correct and add
nuance to this overly simplistic caricature, but violence was
undeniably a major part of Shenoute’s disciplinary strategy. In
this paper, I examine Shenoute’s discussion of corporal punishment in two works from his sixth Canon. In the first, known as
“He Who Sits Upon His Throne,” Shenoute describes his obligations as the leader of the monastery and expresses considerable
distress about his use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary
tool: on the one hand, Shenoute is worried about the health of
an elderly monk who is in danger of dying from the wounds he
received during a beating; on the other hand, he feels personally
responsible for safeguarding the salvation of those in his care
and believes that this man truly deserved the harsh punishment
that he received. In the second text, known as “Is It Not Written,”
these same themes emerge as Shenoute defends himself against
accusations that his methods are overly severe and unreasonable. Beatings, according to Shenoute, were intended to be both
instructive and corrective—designed to save the errant monk
from a much more grievous punishment at the Last Judgment.
In this paper, I explore some of the ways in which Shenoute’s
skillful use of language served to reinforce his considerable influence over the monks of his community. In particular, I argue
that Shenoute’s rhetoric and disciplinary strategy enabled him to
control both the means of violence and the meaning of violence,
while simultaneously expressing a genuine concern for the spiritual well-being of those in his care.
22-351 Susan Myers, University of Saint Thomas
Christian Women and Violence: North Africa
Ancient Christian texts concerning women and violence can be
divided into three distinct areas: violence used against women;
violence on the part of women toward others, usually those who
are more vulnerable than they; and the defense or justification,
on the part of women, of gender-based violence. This study examines the relationship between women and violence in North
Africa during the early centuries of a Christian presence in the
region, and does so according to the categories of violence mentioned above. Violence against women is represented primarily
by martyrologies, in particular the story of Perpetua and Felicitas. I examine the role that gender plays in the account of
their martyrdom. I hope also to locate stories from this region,
similar to stories that survive elsewhere, of women who are depicted as participants in violent acts, usually as part of a crowd.
Finally, I examine texts that deal with violence against women in
the private sphere. Here, Augustine provides interesting material, notably in his response to rape (and potential suicide on
the part of the victim of the assault) and in his discussion of
his own mother’s life. Augustine’s account of Monica’s response
to domestic violence provides an example of women defending and justifying violence against women at the hands of their
husbands. This paper explores how the attitude toward women’s
roles is reversed when violence is involved: women are not to
attract attention outside the home, yet are praised when they en-
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dure public violence, but they are castigated when they reveal
any violence occurring within the home.
continuity with each other, that ultimately he offers one continuous expression of the human approach to God.
22-351 Daniel Washburn, The College of William and
Mary
Pomp and Sacrilege: The Serapeion and the Rhetoric of Exposure
This paper examines the events culminating in the demolition
of Alexandria’s Serapeion and argues that the previous violence
becomes explicable only when situated within the framework
of polemical discourse. When bishop Theophilus discovered a
cache of Mithraic relics, fate handed the Christians an opportunity to perform a scene that apologists had long dreamed of.
By unearthing, displaying, and deriding those items, the Christians enacted a well established trope in late antique rhetoric.
The pagans’ volcanic reaction, leading to a riot and eventually
the destruction of the Serapeion, testifies to the power of those
tactics. Thus the strategies which Theophilus employed against
physical symbols of paganism reflected apologetic techniques
used by other Christians in their handling of literary representations of paganism. In particular, revealing secret items, and thus
making the esoteric exoteric, could elicit a potent resonance. In
the world of apologetic, the unknown was the bastion of sedition, immorality, and grotesque religious affairs. By describing
unseemly acts or disgraceful items, hostile observers expected to
put themselves, and their audience, in the position of an excavator or investigator. On the ground, when Christians flaunted and
ridiculed pagan sacred objects, they made the cult apparatuses
fit this same convention. Finally, this urge to act as a revealer of
the illicit extends even to the accounts that preserve this event.
The ecclesiastical historians not only transmitted the apologetic
message embedded within the historical record, they also imbue
their works with a mood of exposure. Thus, the historians themselves join the process by revealing the pagans’ dirty secrets to
their readership. Coming full circle, these histories act as a literary rendition of a real world version of a literary topos.
22-352 Bradley Charles Gregory, University of Notre Dame
Vindication and Identity in Ben Sira: The Relationship between
the Poor in Judea and Israel under Hellenistic Rule
Scholarship on Ben Sira has rightly asserted that “poverty” is
a concrete concept in the book and does not have a “spiritualized” sense as in later writings, such as the “Sermon on the
Mount.” However, a close reading of Sir 35:14–26 reveals that
socio-economic poverty can function somewhat symbolically in
Ben Sira’s thought. This passage begins by employing the Pentateuchal and Prophetic social ethic against oppressing the poor,
the widow, and the orphan. But by the end of the passage Ben
Sira is speaking of the vindication of Israel before the insolent
nations. This nationalistic perspective is then the subject of Ben
Sira’s prayer for the vindication of corporate Israel in chapter 36
(which should be accepted as authentic). Interestingly, it is difficult to isolate in 35:14–26 precisely when the transition from the
subject of the individual oppressed to that of the nation of Israel
occurs, and for good reason: the conceptualization of identity
vis-à-vis the individual and the community was more fluid in
ancient Israel than in the modern West. As such, God’s vindication of the poor and oppressed individuals within Israel can
segue quite seamlessly into the subject of God’s vindication of
oppressed Israel among the nations, specifically her Hellenistic
overlords.
22-352 Catherine Petrany, Fordham University
Amalgamator or Theologian? Ben Sira’s Creation Poem in
42:15–43:33
In the book of Ben Sira, one finds a collection of ideas concerning God, wisdom, creation, the Torah, and the intricacies
of human life in both the social and religious spheres. His synthesis of diverse themes does not always achieve a systematic
coherence, and he often allows seemingly inconsistent ideas to
coexist. His epistemology is optimistic and inclusive, firmly
rooted in a universalistic creation theology fundamental to wisdom literature as a whole. However, Ben Sira’s introduction of
Torah consciousness into this creation-based framework shapes
his epistemological and theological concerns in a unique way.
Moreover, the sage seems mostly untroubled by the inherent
tension that modern scholars often recognize between creation
theology and salvation history, and instead presents a amicable
merger of the two. This study examines Ben Sira’s understanding
and synthesis of creation and covenant through an examination
of the creation poem in 42:15–43:33. The poem provides an entrance into the sage’s theological concerns within the context of
the larger wisdom corpus. Furthermore, the poem’s linguistic
and thematic connections with the immediately following Praise
of the Fathers hymn demonstrate the manner in which creation
theology and salvation history existed in harmonious distinction for Ben Sira. By placing these two hymns side by side, Ben
Sira allows the revelatory power of the created world to stand
in a reciprocal relationship with the covenant story of his own
specific history. His clear intention to present the two hymns as a
unity reveals that the sage also saw the two as intertwined and in
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22-352 Greg Schmidt Goering, University of Virginia
Visual and Aural Metaphors in Proverbs and Sirach
As psychologist Erwin Strauss has shown, sight and aurality not
only differ with respect to their modes of perception, but they
also orient a person differently toward the external environment. Since perceptual metaphors convey the modal differences
assumed to be operative in the visual and auditory senses, respectively, the metaphorical uses of seeing and hearing also
construct different stances toward the world. Visual metaphors
suggest an orientation toward nature and aural metaphors an
orientation toward verbal revelation. Whereas nature offers a
significant symbolic reservoir for religious imagination in the Israelite wisdom tradition, revelation is largely absent from older
wisdom literature, such as Proverbs. Israelite sages always held
verbal instruction in high regard, but because of their emphasis
on the derivation of principles for living well from observations
on nature and everyday life, the early Israelite wisdom tradition
privileged sight as a means of perceiving divine wisdom. Hearing appears secondary, a derivative of the primary insights based
on visual observation. In Proverbs, for example, aurality refers
principally to the reception of sapiential instruction. In later
Second Temple Jewish wisdom literature, aural metaphors take
on new significance. Older wisdom literature had acknowledged
the limits of human wisdom but never called into question the
reliability of visual observation. Later practitioners, however,
began to suggest that visual perception could mislead, and aural perception came to be viewed as a necessary supplement.
For Ben Sira, auditory metaphors continue to suggest the aural
reception of wisdom teaching, but they also describe the creation of the world by divine word, the emanation of personified
Wisdom from God’s mouth, and the role of verbal revelation in
sapiential instruction.
22-352 Iljea Lee, Yale University
Zoroastrian Elements in the Wisdom of Solomon
I have drawn in this paper a comparison of the Gathas of Zarathustra and the Wisdom of Solomon. While scholars have noted
many strands of Greek philosophical thought in the Wisdom of
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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Solomon, there is great possibility that other strands of thought
exist in the Wisdom of Solomon that are not particularly of Greek
influence. I have endeavored to show in this paper elements of
Persian Zoroastrian philosophical ideas embedded in the framework of the Wisdom of Solomon. Historically, it is plausible that
some degree of Zoroastrian thought might have influenced the
Wisdom of Solomon. Textually, a lot of Zoroastrian elements are
present in the Wisdom of Solomon. For example, the Wisdom
of Solomon shares: the Zoroastrian concept of non-linear and
non-mystical path towards attaining Wisdom; the Zoroastrian
notion of a mercurial or “feminine” Wisdom; and the Zoroastrian concept of Wisdom as an overflowing force that brings
about practical applications in daily life. But there are also minor
similarities, such as the conception of God, the human spirit, the
human condition, enlightenment. Though this paper was not an
exhaustive study of both texts, I hope it opens a possibility of appreciating the Wisdom of Solomon in a new light.
22-352 Katheryn Pfisterer Darr, Boston University
Are Proverbs Didactic?
My paper treats two intertwined issues related to the study of
ancient Israel’s adages. The first issue, expressed in its title, has
generated debate among literary critics and ethnographers.
Our answer to this question reveals/informs our understanding
of what proverbs are, why they were created, why people cite
them, and how audiences receive them. The second issue concerns how most scholars scrutinze, classify, and evaluate Israel’s
proverbs—as freestanding units in collections. I conclude that
proverbs can function didactically in at least three ways.
22-352 John Walton Burnight, University of Chicago
Job 5:7 as Eliphaz’s Response to Job’s “Malediction” (3:3–10)
This paper proposes a new interpretation of Job 5:7 (traditionally translated “For man is born to trouble, as sparks fly upward”),
one that would eliminate the fatalistic aphorism viewed by many
scholars as problematic in light of Eliphaz’s otherwise consistent defense of “practical” (as opposed to “speculative”) biblical
wisdom traditions. The proposal offered here is that that the infinitive in the second colon traditionally viewed as a reference to
“flight” (‘wp I in the standard lexicons) could instead be interpreted as a reference to “gloom” (‘wp II). The verse would then
serve not as a simile, but rather as Eliphaz’s response to Job’s
words in 3:3–10, in which he “curses” the day of his birth by
invoking a variety of “darkening” agents.
23-104 Robert Wafula, Drew University
I am To be What You are Not: A Critical Postcolonial Reading of
the African Bible Commentary’s Lot and Abraham’s Stories
This paper will examine the treatment of the story of Abraham
and Lot in the African Bible Commentary (hereafter called
ABC). The ABC, like many traditional Evangelical Western
commentaries focuses its attention on the person of Abraham.
So when Abraham leaves he has, .”..community, culture and
family...” (ABC, pg. 29). When Abraham and Lot separate, ABC
records that it was Abraham’s good decision of .”..generous and
unselfish spirit...” to .”..waive his rights as the older party...” In
the commentary Lot is treated as a villain and Abraham as the
good one. What if we read the story from Lot’s eyes? What if we
asked questions about how and for what purpose this story is
projecting and characterizing Lot as different from Abraham?
What if we brought in insights from ethnicity studies? What if
we employed cultural hermeneutics and Postcolonial perspectives in reading the story? My project will seek to read the story
from the point of view of the questions here raised.
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23-104 Robert Wafawanaka, Virginia Union University
Wealth and Prosperity in the Bible: An African Perspective
This paper seeks to explore the concept of material wealth in the
Bible using the insights of African biblical hermeneutics. Utilizing select texts from the book of Psalms as a point of departure,
the paper seeks to provide a more holistic understanding of material wealth in the Bible. By postulation a connection between
the agrarian economies of the biblical world and traditional Africa, the paper argues that the concept of material wealth in the
Bible is directly relevant to the African context. An exploration
of the meaning, use and function of material wealth in both contexts will reveal the holistic nature of this concept. As a result,
the paper seeks to counter prosperity readings and teachings of
material wealth that are evident in some churches and modern
contexts.
23-105 Ryan S. Schellenberg, University of St. Micheal’s
College
Suspense, Simultaneity, and the Providence of God: Theology and
Narrative Structure in the Book of Tobit
Emil Schürer, noting Tobit’s salient emphasis on almsgiving,
burial, and endogamy, categorized this book among Jewish
“didactic and paraenetical stories”—a characterization that continues to exert considerable influence. More recently, a number
of scholars have challenged the assumption that Tobit should
be read with such solemnity: A narrative that features blindness caused by bird droppings and preemptive grave digging is
only explicable, they argue, as comedy. What both these views
of Tobit’s genre and function have tended to obscure, however,
is the book’s consistent emphasis on God’s salvific action, and,
specifically, on the redemptive workings of divine providence.
In this study, I attempt to demonstrate that the very structure
of Tobit’s narrative asserts the sovereignty of God. In particular,
I suggest that Tobit’s management of suspense and artful use of
simultaneity posit a world in which God is firmly in control. Insights into the nature and function of suspense in Tobit develop
in conversation with Meir Sternberg’s analysis of the poetics of
biblical narrative and George Duckworth’s study of suspense in
ancient epic; a context for Tobit’s use of simultaneity emerges
from a survey of the function of synchronisms in Hellenistic
historiography and in Acts. Finally, I attempt to demonstrate
how Tobit’s carefully supervised narrative world is a fitting response to the anxiety and seeming chaos of life in exile/Diaspora
— chaos which is itself represented but rendered impotent in the
narrative.
23-105 Ilaria Ramelli, Catholic University of the Sacred
Heart, Milan
The Abgar-Tiberius Epistolary between Historical Truth and
Fiction
The Syriac narrative entitled Doctrina Addai or Teaching of Addai, a historical novel belonging to the genre of the so-called
apocryphal Acts of Apostles, tells the story of the first evangelizing of Edessa by the apostle Addai (whom the Greeks identified
with Thaddaeus). Addai was sent to Edessa by Thomas, one of
the twelve apostles, healed Abgar the Black, the king of Edessa,
and other people, and preached the Gospel before all the inhabitants of the city. The result was the massive conversion of
both the king and all the Edessan people to Christianity and the
foundation of the church in Osrhoene, the vassal state of Rome
of which Edessa was the capital. In the narrative frame of the
Doctrina, of which I shall provide an analysis, two exchanges of
letters are included, one between King Abgar and Jesus, a blatant
fabrication recognized as such already in ancient councils and
synods dealing with canonicity, and another, much shorter letter
Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting Abstracts
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between Abgar and Tiberius. The latter, which is also present in
the Armenian version of the narrative and is preserved by the
historian Moses of Chorene, contains very interesting historical
details, as I shall demonstrate. They fit perfectly in the historical, military, and political situation of the Thirties of the first
century AD, when Tiberius was engaging in clever maneuvers in
the Near East against the Parthians. Also given that this section
is an independent nucleus in the Doctrina Addai, as the philological and palaeographical analysis confirms, I shall argue that
this epistolary may derive from a historical exchange of letters
between the vassal king and the Roman emperor.
23-105 Richard I. Pervo, St. Paul, MN
History Told by Losers: Dictys and Dares on the Trojan War
Few ancient writings offer more assurance of reliability than the
Ephemeris belli Troiani of Dictys Cretensis and the Acta diurna
belli Troiani of Dares Phrygius. These include eye-witness authorship, appropriate form and simple style, dedicatory epistles,
a rational view of the universe in which gods play no role in
the siege of Troy, and the entire range of devices conducive to
credibility (Beglaubingunsapparat). In fact, both are Greek fictions of the Imperial period. These books show the popularity of
fiction in historical form. Translation into Latin made them the
authoritative account of the Trojan War throughout the Western Middle Ages. As the bases for various French works, they
constituted sources for Chaucer and Shakespeare. For more than
a millennium these fictions constituted fact. Among questions
raised are authorial intention: did these writers seek to deceive
or did they expect their audience—like, for example, readers
of modern novels—to perceive the literary function of the audience? The same issues arise with regard to early Jewish and
Christian fiction. Cictys and Dares supply a fine model for reflection upon these matters.
23-105 Gerhard van den Heever, University of South Africa
X-Files, the Matrix, and Strange Tales of the Beyond: Truth, Fiction, and Social Discourse
Classificatory taxonomies of narrative traditions reveal much
about the social positionality of the groups involved in the labeling. Thus, Bruce Lincoln’s taxonomy of fable, legend, history,
and myth classify narratives according to a varying continuum
of truth-claim, credibility, and authority. As such, taxonomic
exercises of this nature open a window on to the rhetoric and social discourses embodied in the literary production of an era. In
the early Roman Empire, the blurring of the boundaries between
history, fantasy, and myth, on the one hand, and simultaneously
the large-scale production of histories and anti-histories, on the
other, as well as the rise of a corpus of paradoxical literature,
suggest a very productive industry of carnivalesque, Saturnalian
remythicisation or redefinition of social discourse concomitant
with imperial formation. In this context, the narratives of exceptional ‘divine men’—which span a truly wide range of ‘voices’
from ‘fictional’ narrators in such works as The Wonders Beyond
Thule, to the visionary journeys of apocalyptic seers, to the figure of Jesus Christ in Christian literature or Apollonius of Tyana
in the Vita Apollonii, to the Lives of Christian saints—evidence
an entextualized betraveled cosmos, of which the exotic and fantastical character of these serve as index of a new construction of
authoritative myth. On another level it is contemporary scholars
who judge the truth-value of fictional, mythical, or self-proclaimed historical literature. The argument of this paper, thus,
is that scholarly evaluation of ‘historical myth or fiction’, how
scholars taxonomize, equally reveals much about the social discourses and contended positions in which scholarship is caught
up.
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23-107 Daniel Machiela, McMaster University
Reevaluating the Language of the Genesis Apocryphon in Light of
Qumran Aramaic
E. Y. Kutscher’s seminal article evaluating the Aramaic of the
Genesis Apocryphon has been a standard point of reference for
those studying the Apocryphon and other Aramaic texts from
Qumran for decades. However, at the time Kutscher wrote the
extensive corpus of Aramaic texts from Qumran were not yet
fully known or appreciated, and were thus not a part of his study.
This paper will reevaluate the language of the Apocryphon in
reference to other Aramaic texts from Qumran and the Judean
Desert, with the goal of more accurately placing it within the
chronological typology of this corpus. At the same time, it is
hoped that this study will contribute to the larger goal of more
firmly establishing such a typology, thereby adding to our overall
grasp on Middle Aramaic. Finally, the paper will address briefly
the distinct forms of Aramaic employed in the first and second
parts of the scroll—a phenomenon merely gestured toward previously by Randall Buth.
23-107 Dr. Alejandro F. Botta, Boston University
To Hate your Spouse or to Divorce Him/Her: A Reassessment of
the Use )n# in Elephantine.
Recent studies on the use of )n# in Elephantine have suggested
that it represents a hitherto unrecognized legal institution of a
demoted spouse (Szubin-Porten: 2001; Porten 2003); or expresses feelings of rejection marking a break but not the marriage’s
dissolution (Nutkowicz: 2007). In this paper we analyze the
structural function of )n# within the non-fragmentary “documents of wifehood” (TAD B2.6; B3.3; B3.8), its occurrences in
the rest of the Elephantine corpus, and its Biblical and Ancient
Near Eastern context to reaffirm its legal meaning of “divorce” in
the Elephantine documents.
23-107 David Rensberger, Interdenominational Theological Center
A First-century C.E. Syriac Text: The Letter of Mara bar Serapion
Though the date of the Syriac Letter of Mara bar Serapion has
been much debated, A. Merz and T. Tieleman have shown good
grounds, based on historical and philosophical context, for
dating it in the last third of the first century CE. Can this early
dating be sustained linguistically, given that there are no other
examples of fully developed Syriac texts from this time? The data
of the Letter are complex and puzzling. First, there are textual
confusions between the letters het and he and between waw and
yod that cannot have arisen in Estrangela script. The author (who
was from Samosata, not Edessa) must therefore have been writing in some variety of “square” Aramaic script. Certain features
of “classical” Syriac are in place, notably the n- preformative for
the masculine imperfect. Other features are not yet present, notably the use of the “emphatic” state for both determined and
undetermined nouns: for the latter, Mara frequently still uses
the absolute state. Other aspects of the text also point toward
an early date, including the paucity of Greek loan-words and
the complete absence of hw’ in combination with perfect tense
verbs. The Letter also has some vocabulary not known elsewhere
(including some technical terminology), and three instances of
an odd construction in which a short clause introduced with dis then completed not with the expected imperfect tense verb
but with an infinitive with prefixed l-. Taken together, these and
other factors suggest that the Letter of Mara bar Serapion was
written by an elite author in a local dialect of eastern Aramaic,
perhaps an early form of Syriac, or perhaps one of several dialects that would contribute to the genesis of Syriac. On this basis,
a late first-century dating seems at least possible.
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23-107 Humphrey H. Hardy II, The University of Chicago
The Tell Fekheriyeh Stele: Dialect, Word Order, and Scribal
Symbiosis
Thirty years ago, a basalt statue of Had-Yith’i, the king of ancient
Sikkan and Guzan, was uncovered at the edge of the ancient
city-mound of Tell Fekheriyeh opposite Tell Halaf on a tributary
of the Khabur River. The bilingual Akkadian-Aramaic inscription thereon ignited a frenzy of articles mostly concentrating
on this early, and in some aspects unique, exemplar of Aramaic.
Of particular interest was the dialect witnessed by the Aramaic
inscription—the established scholarly opinion became that it
should not to be aligned with the well-attested Syrian dialect
of Old Aramaic, but a previously unattested “Mesopotamian
dialect,” as it exhibited Akkadian-influenced, verb-final clause
word order. These dialectic studies, however, provide little discussion of Old Aramaic syntax and lack a systematic attempt
to outline discrepancies in clause construction. This paper examines this claim of dialectic divergence in the Aramaic of the
Tell Fekheriyeh stele by providing an inductive analysis of Old
Aramaic verbal clause word order and comparing it to the constructions found in the Tell Fekheriyeh inscriptions. It will be
demonstrated that whereas Tell Fekheriyeh diverges with regard
to verb placement, other characteristics of Old Aramaic clause
construction—namely the placement of clause modification, infinitive clause construction, and the curse formulary—permeate
the Aramaic inscription. In fact, most features, excluding verb
placement in main clauses, follow the norms of the contemporaneous Aramaic dialects over against those of Akkadian. Thus
it is suggested that this departure need not necessarily be a reflection of a variant local or regional dialect but may be better
explained as a scribal innovation particular to the socio-political
realities of this border region.
23-107 Paul Flesher, University of Wyoming
Oral Translating and Written Targum: The Role of Translation
according to Rabbinic Literature
Given the scholarly advances in the study of Rabbinic literature
over the past 40 years, it is time to take another look at how
these writings portray the role of Aramaic translation (targum)
and translating (tirgem). Looking at the portrayals documentby-document, chronologically from the Mishnah to the Bavli,
reveals that